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8F  THE 


CRUSADERS. 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS 

OP 

EUROPEAN  HISTORY. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
THOMAS,  COWPERTHWAIT  &  CO. 


Tift  USMnl 
OF  THE 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS 


OF 


EUROPEAN  HISTORY: 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF 


PETER  PARLEY'S  TALES. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
THOMAS,  COWPERTHWAIT  &  CO. 
1846. 


Printed  by  T.  K.  &  P.  G.  Collins. 


t)^  0 


PREFACE. 


The  following  pages  will  be  found  to  contain,  in  the  first 
place,  a  rapid  outline  of  the  History  of  Europe,  from  its  be- 
ginning  to  the  present  time  ;  and  then  a  series  of  sketches  or 
pictures  of  important  and  interesting  events,  belonging  to  the 
history,  and  drawn  out  with  some  detail.  It  is  supposed  that 
even  the  youthful  reader  may  be  able  to  assign  these  sketches 
to  their  proper  chronological  places,  and  that  they  may,  there- 
fore, form  a  succession  of  prominent  points,  from  which  he 
may  be  able  to  mark  the  outlines  or  boundaries  of  the  entire 
field  of  European  history. 

It  is  believed  that  there  are  difficulties  in  the  study  of  histo- 
ry, which  are  somewhat  formidable  to  the  youthful  mind. 
If  the  beginner  takes  an  abridgement,  which  presents  the 
topics  in  distinct  chronological  succession,  the  book  is  dry, 
conveys  few  ideas,  and  makes  a  feeble  impression  on  the  un- 
derstanding and  memory.  If,  on  the  contrary,  he  enters  upon 
voluminous  details,  the  mind  is  apt  to  become  confounded  in 
a  wilderness  of  events,  and  therefore  to  obtain  no  clear  com- 
prehension of  the  whole  subject. 


IV 


PREFACE. 


The  present  volume  is  only  intended  as  a  partial  remedy 
of  the  evils  attending  both  these  modes  of  teaching  history  . 
By  impressing  the  mind  vividly  with  a  few  prominent  sub- 
jects, several  important  things  may  be  accomplished  ;  the  in- 
terest of  the  reader  may  be  enlisted ;  a  certain  amount  of  use- 
ful information  may  be  stored  in  the  memory ;  and  a  number 
of  positions  may  be  established,  which  will  operate  like  guide- 
boards,  ever  after,  to  direct  the  inquirer  through  the  laby- 
rinths in  which  an  extended  narrative  is  sure  to  inclose  him. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

General  View   1 

Ancient  Greece   24 

Passages  in  Grecian  History   26 

Grecian  Mythology   47 

Grecian  Games   57 

Rome   60 

Sketches  from  the  History  of  Great  Britain  .  79 

Julius  Csesar  in  England   79 

Alfred  and  his  Times     ,              ....  90 

Canute  and  his  Times   102 

The  Norman  Conquest   110 

Magna  Charta   121 

The  Gunpowder  Plot   130 

Oliver  Cromwell  and  his  Times        .       .       .  137 

The  Plague  in  London   150 

The  Great  Fire  in  London        ....  158 

The  South  Sea  Bubble   162 

Scotland.  —  Wallace  and  his  Times  .       .       .  169 

Wales. — Llewelyn  and  the  Bards        .       .       .  179 

Ireland   187 

Early  History  of  Ireland   187 


1* 


vi 


CONTENTS. 


France   199 

Charlemagne  and  his  Times   199 

The  Crusades   211 

The  Tr9ubadours   221 

The  Jacquerie   229 

The  Huguenots   234 

Louis  the  Fourteenth  and  his  Times  .       .       .  244 

Spain   253 

The  Moors  in  Spain  .       .      .      .      .      .  253 

Russia   ...  264 

Peter  the  Great  ...  ...  264 

Miscellaneous  Sketches   275 

Chivalry  and  Knight-errantry    ....  275 

The  Middle  Ages   287 

Fall  of  the  Greek  Empire   302 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS 

OF 

EUROPEAN  HISTORY. 


GENERAL  VIEW. 

This  portion  of  the  Old  World  occupies  the  north- 
western corner  of  the  Eastern  Continent,  of  which  it 
forms  a  little  more  than  one  eighth  part.  Its  extent  is 
3,900,000  square  miles,  being  about  twice  that  of  the 
United  States.  Its  present  population  is  estimated  at 
230  millions,  or  about  one  fourth  part  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  globe.  Its  name  is  derived  from  Europa, 
daughter  of  an  ancient  king  of  Tyre. 


8 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


Though  the  last  portion  of  the  Continent  to  be  set- 
tled, Europe  is  the  first  in  respect  to  the  intelligence, 
skill,  wealth,  and  power  of  its  inhabitants.  It  has,  in 
fact,  long  been  the  seat  and  centre  of  civilization,  from 
which  light  and  knowledge  have  radiated  over  the 
world.  At  no  period  of  human  history,  has  any  coun- 
try displayed  such  progress  in  the  arts,  such  advances 
in  science,  such  diffusion  of  knowledge,  as  are  now  wit- 
nessed among  the  leading  nations  of  Europe.  Neither 
Greece  nor  Rome,  in  their  highest  pitch  of  glory, 
rivalled,  in  any  considerable  degree,  the  spectacle  of 
political,  military,  religious,  and  social  exaltation  pre- 
sented by  a  single  European  power  —  that  of  Great 
Britain  —  at  the  present  day. 

It  is  generally  admitted,  that  Asia  was  the  cradle  of 
the  human  family,  and  that  Europe,  as  well  as  Africa, 
received  its  first  inhabitants  from  that  quarter.  But 
the  history  of  the  first  settlements  in  Europe  must 
ever  remain  shrouded  in  obscurity.  About  2000  years 
before  Christ,  certain  bands  of  emigrants  from  the 
Asiatic  borders  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  began  to 
visit  Greece,  which  they  found  already  occupied  by 
various  tribes  of  savages.  These  were  called  Pelasgi- 
ans,  and  lived  in  caves,  fed  upon  roots  and  wild  fruit, 
and  clothed  themselves  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts. 

About  752,  B.  C,  we  are  told  that  Romulus  founded 
Rome,  in  the  centre  of  Italy  ;  but  already  the  country 
around  was  occupied  by  various  tribes,  and  one  of 
these,  the  Etruscans,  who  possessed  the  territory  now 
called  Tuscany,  had  made  considerable  progress  in 
civilization.  About  five  centuries  previous  to  the 
Christian  era,  the  Carthaginians  had  colonies  in  Spain, 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


9 


and  were  accustomed  to  visit  Britain  and  Ireland,  all 
of  which  countries  were  peopled  at  that  early  period. 

In  the  days  of  Julius  Caesar,  fifty  years  before  Christ, 
not  only  the  portions  of  Europe  which  lay  along  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  but  the  central  and  northern  sec- 
tions, were  thickly  inhabited.  Gaul  was  in  the  pos- 
session of  a  great  and  powerful  nation,  consisting  of 
Celts,  who  presented  a  most  formidable  opposition  to 
the  great  Roman  leader.  For  nine  campaigns  they 
resisted  his  legions,  and  it  was  not  till  more  than  a 
million  of  men  had  fallen,  that  they  yielded  to  the 
conqueror.  At  this  period,  it  appears  that  the  whole 
of  Europe  was  peopled,  and  many  portions  of  it  seem 
to  have  been  swarming  with  population. 

From  this  hasty  view,  we  are  able  to  trace  the 
general  current  of  events,  in  relation  to  the  first  settle- 
ment of  Europe.  It  would  appear,  that,  at  least  two 
thousand  years  before  Christ,  portions  of  emigrants 
began  to  set  off*  from  the  thickly  settled  coasts  of 
Asia  Minor  and  Africa,  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the 
yet  unexplored  regions  which  lay  along  the  northern 
border  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  These  parties  went 
by  water,  and,  at  first,  in  small  boats  or  vessels,  and 
consisted,  doubtless,  of  the  restless,  dissatisfied,  and 
daring  portion  of  the  community.  In  all  its  essential 
features,  it  is  probable  that  the  emigration  of  this  pe- 
riod resembled  that  of  our  own  time,  —  in  which  the 
hardy  and  resolute  adventurers  plunge  into  the  wilder- 
ness to  contend  with  difficulties  and  conquer  a  sub- 
sistence from  the  savage  inhabitants  and  equally  in- 
hospitable nature,  in  a  new  country.  As  these  parties 
started  from  different  points,  and  consisted  of  different 


10 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


races,  they  laid  the  foundation  of  so  many  different 
tribes,  which,  as  they  extended  and  began  to  approach 
each  other,  fell  into  frequent  acts  of  hostility  ;  for  it 
seems  that  man,  in  the  early  stages  of  society,  is  the 
most  pugnacious  of  animals. 

Thus  it  would  appear  that  the  southern  maritime 
parts  of  Europe  were  settled  by  emigration  from  the 
civilized  portions  of  Asia  and  Africa,  lying  at  the  east- 
ern extremity  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  ;  that  these 
emigrants  went  chiefly  by  water,  and  carried  with 
them  the  arts  known  to  the  countries  from  which  they 
sprang  ;  and  that  this  movement  had  begun  at  least 
so  early  as  1850  years  before  Christ. 

But,  while  this  process  was  going  on,  another 
stream  of  emigration  was  setting  in  from  Asia  upon 
Europe,  farther  to  the  north.  This  consisted  of  va- 
rious tribes,  who  either  passed  between  the  Caspian 
and  Black  seas,  and  crossed  the  Don,  or,  taking  a 
more  northerly  route,  crossed  the  Volga.  The  gen- 
eral direction  of  this  movement  was  to  the  northwest. 
The  countries  from  which  these  people  came  were 
probably  Tartary,  Persia,  and  the  regions  around  the 
Caucasian  mountains. 

The  southern  nations  of  Europe,  such  as  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  settled  down  in  cities  and  cultivated  the 
arts ;  they  had  a  knowledge  of  letters,  and  had  thus  the 
means  of  recording  events.  Of  these  we  have,  there- 
fore, some  accounts,  and  are  able  to  trace  the  main 
current  of  history  far  back,  till  it  blends  in  the  distance 
with  the  mists  of  fable.  With  the  northern  nations  it 
is  otherwise.  These  were  entirely  in  a  savage  or 
barbarous  state  ;  for  centuries  they  had  no  permanent 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


11 


abodes.  They  flowed  onward  like  an  inundation 
wave  following  wave,  but  leaving  no  record  behind. 
After  the  lapse  of  centuries,  we  find  the  whole  country- 
occupied,  even  to  the  remotest  limit  of  Britain  ;  we 
see  that  the  great  valley  of  the  North  is  insufficient  for 
the  flood  of  population,  and  that  it  even  bursts  over 
the  Alps,  and  flows  over,  like  lava,  upon  the  plains  of 
northern  Italy.  From  these  facts  we  can  deduce  in- 
ferences, and,  in  the  absence  of  precise  records,  the 
imagination  can  aid  us  to  fill  up  the  mighty  picture. 
We  can  see  that  for  ages  there  was  a  constant  out- 
pouring of  nations  from  Asia  upon  Europe ;  we  can 
see  that  there  were  restless,  roving  tribes,  half  herds- 
men and  half  robbers ;  living  partly  by  plunder  and 
partly  by  the  pasturage  of  cattle,  till  at  last,  one  by 
one,  they  fixed  upon  some  favored  spot,  and  became 
a  settled  people.  So  much  we  know ;  and,  though  we 
cannot  give  name  and  place  to  particular  events,  it 
requires  no  stretch  of  fancy  to  conclude  that  this  is 
the  history  of  the  first  settlement  of  middle  and  north- 
ern Europe.  When  Csesar,  about  fifty  years  before 
Christ,  crossed  the  Alps,  and  began  his  campaigns  in 
Gaul,  he  kept  a  record  of  what  he  saw.  From  that 
period,  we  have  a  continuous  history  of  leading  events ; 
but  for  the  2000  years  preceding,  during  which  these 
portions  of  Europe  were  becoming  settled,  we  have 
hardly  any  other  guide  than  inference  or  conjecture. 

The  emigration  into  middle  and  northern  Europe 
appears  to  have  continued  for  a  series  of  ages,  and  it 
is  probable  that,  in  some  instances,  whole  nations, 
amounting  to  many  thousands,  broke  from  their  foun- 
dations,  and  moved  in  one   overwhelming  torrent 


12 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


to  the  north  and  west,  in  search  of  a  new  abode. 
Among  these  emigrant  people,  the  Celts  appear  to 
have  been  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  numerous. 
At  the  earliest  periods  of  history,  they  already  oc- 
cupied a  great  part  of  central  and  western  Europe. 
Prior  to  the  Christian  era,  these  people,  under  the 
name  of  Gauls,  had  possessed  northern  Italy,  and  in  the 
year  382^  B.  C,  a  host  of  them  burst  over  the  Alps, 
and,  directing  their  way  to  Rome,  laid  that  city  in  ashes. 
About  280,  B.  C,  a  vast  multitude  of  these  people  in- 
vaded Macedonia  and  Greece,  where  they  obtained 
immense  booty. 

It  would  appear  that  the  power  of  the  Gauls  in  Eu- 
rope was  on  the  decline,  even  before  the  time  of  Cae- 
sar's conquest.  They  were  pressed  by  enemies  on  all 
sides,  and,  though  still  numerous  and  formidable,  had 
evidently  lost  that  ascendency  which  they  had  main- 
tained for  many  centuries  before.  At  this  period, 
they  occupied  the  northern  part  of  Italy,  Spain,  France, 
Britain,  and  Ireland  ;  and  the  present  inhabitants  of 
these  several  countries  have  a  large  mixture  of  Celtic 
blood  in  their  veins.  Their  language  is  still  preserved 
with  considerable  purity  among  the  Irish,  who  are,  m 
fact,  a  Celtic  nation.  Ireland  had  the  singular  fortune 
never  to  be  conquered  by  Rome,  nor,  indeed,  by  any 
of  the  tribes  that  overran  the  northern  portions  of 
Europe.  The  Irish,  therefore,  are  the  oldest  nation  in 
Europe,  and  present  to  us  not  only  the  language  of 
their  Celtic  ancestors,  but,  perhaps,  an  example  of 
their  physical  and  moral  characteristics. 

The  Celts,  or  Gauls,  as  described  by  Caesar,  were 
men  of  large  size,  fair  complexion,  reddish  hair,  and 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


13 


fierce  aspect.  They  could  bear  cold  and  rain,  but 
neither  heat  nor  thirst ;  they  were  vain  and  boastful, 
clamorous,  and  impatient  of  control,  and  quarrelsome 
among  themselves.  Their  first  onset  was  formidable, 
but,  if  once  repulsed,  they  easily  gave  way  and  dis- 
persed. Their  swords  were  long  and  unwieldy,  and, 
being  made  of  copper,  bent  before  the  steel  armor  of 
the  Romans.  They  fought  naked  down  to  the  loins  ; 
their  shields  were  large  and  oblong,  but  slight,  and  ill- 
contrived  for  protection. 


Druids. 


Their  government  was  aristocratic.  The  nobles 
formed  the  senate,  or  supreme  council.  The  common 
people  appear  to  have  had  no  political  rights,  and  were 
in  a  state  of  vassalage.  The  Druids  were  the  priests, 
and  formed  a  powerful  hierarchy.  They  were  inter- 
VIII. — 2 


14 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


preters  of  the  law,  and  judges  in  civil  and  criminal 
matters.  Their  sacerdotal  character  was  hereditary, 
though  young  men  of  noble  families  were  occasionally 
adopted  into  the  order. 

The  religion  of  the  Celts  was  a  kind  of  Theism  ; 
they  had  no  idols,  and  always  showed  great  aversion 
to  them.  They  worshipped  the  Supreme  Being  in  sa- 
cred groves.  The  oak  and  the  mistletoe  were  sacred. 
They  had  bards,  who  were  not  only  poets,  but  sooth- 
sayers, and  their  songs  were  transmitted  by  tradition. 
The  Druids  offered  human  sacrifices,  and  they  drew 
omens  from  certain  appearances,  and  also  from  the 
flight  of  birds. 

The  Germanic  family,  though  divided  into  several 
branches,  formed  one  of  the  mighty  waves  of  pop- 
ulation which  poured  forth  upon  Europe  from  the 
western  portions  of  Asia.  These  spread  themselves 
to  the  north,  and  occupied  Germany,  Denmark,  Swe- 
den, Norway,  and  a  part  of  Russia  and  Poland.  In 
the  latter  regions,  they  met  with  Tartars  from  Asiatic 
Scythia,  and  the  mixture  of  these  races  produced  the 
Sclavonic  nations. 

The  decline  of  the  Roman  power,  in  the  fourth  and 
fifth  centuries,  tempted  these  northern  tribes  from  their 
cold  and  less  fertile  regions,  and  they  rushed  down 
like  an  avalanche,  overspreading  the  countries  which 
lay  before  them.  The  Danes  and  Saxons  seized  upon 
England,  and  various  other  tribes  obtained  a  footing  in 
France,  Spain,  and  Italy.  The  present  language  of 
Germany,  England,  Holland,  Denmark,  and  Sweden 
has  a  basis  derived  from  the  great  Germanic  stock. 
The  language  of  France,  Spain,  and  Italy  has  a  ba- 
sis derived  from  the  Latin  tongue. 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


15 


Robust  forms,  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  florid  complex- 
ions, and  large,  broad-fronted  heads  constitute  the 
chief  physical  characteristics  of  the  pure  Germanic 
family  ;  while,  morally  and  intellectually,  they  stand 
preeminent  above  all  the  other  tribes  of  mankind. 
They  are  conspicuous,  in  particular,  for  what  may  be 
called  the  industrial  virtues^  exhibiting  a  degree  of 
indomitable  perseverance  in  all  improving  pursuits, 
which  has  rendered  them  the  great  inventors  of  the 
human  race.  The  mixture  of  German  and  Tar- 
tar blood  in  the  northeastern  nations  of  Europe  has 
given  to  these  darker  hair  and  complexions  than  the 
pure  Germans,  and  has  also  lessened  their  propensity 
to  intellectual  cultivation.  The  effects  of  the  Tartar 
conquest  of  Russia,  in  the  twelfth  century,  by  Genghis 
Khan,  whose  successors  held  the  country  for  200  years, 
will  probably  be  observable  in  the  career  of  this  people 
for  ages  to  come,  and,  indeed,  perhaps  as  long  as  the 
race  exists. 

The  history  of  Europe  may  be  divided  into  three 
periods.  Ancient  History^  the  Middle  Ages^  and  Mod- 
ern History.  The  first  of  these  periods  begins  with  the 
settlement  of  Inachus  in  Greece,  in  the  year  1856,  B.  C, 
and  ends  with  the  fall  of  Rome  in  the  year  479,  A.  D. 
During  this  period,  none  of  the  present  kingdoms  of 
Europe  were  founded,  and  the  whole  space  is  occupied 
with  the  history  of  Greece  and  Rome,  embracing, 
however,  many  countries  which  formed  dependencies 
of  the  latter. 

The  Middle  or  Dark  Ages,  extending  from  the  fall 
of  Rome  to  the  year  1400,  comprise  a  long  and  re- 
markable period  in  the  history  of  the  human  race,  and 


16 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


exhibit  many  wonderful  phenomena  of  human  nature. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  most  of  the  present  king- 
doms of  Europe  had  their  foundation  ;  it  was  during  this 
period  that  the  feudal  system  took  its  rise,  that  the  cru- 
sades had  their  wild  career,  that  the  Troubadours  sang 
their  lays  of  love  and  war,  and  that  the  fantastic  institu- 
tion of  chivalry,  with  most  of  the  orders  of  knighthood, 
had  their  beginning  and  end.  It  was  during  this  period, 
also,  for  the  most  part,  that  Christianity  was  dissemi- 
nated throughout  Europe,  that  the  present  langua- 
ges of  Europe  were  formed,  and  that  a  comming- 
ling of  races  took  place,  which  seemed  indispensable 
to  a  high  and  permanent  civilization.  We  may  refer 
to  this  period,  also,  for  the  germs  of  many  of  the  arts 
and  institutions  which  contribute  to  the  present  im- 
proved condition  of  mankind. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  circumstances  in  the 
history  of  the  Middle  Ages  is,  that,  during  so  dark  a 
period,  Gothic  architecture  took  its  rise  and  reached  its 
highest  perfection.  It  is  said  to  affect  an  imitation  of 
the  forest,  whose  branches  unite  and  form  an  •  arch 
above ;  but  where  it  originated,  or  from  what  source  it 
was  derived,  is  unknown.  The  subject  has  afforded 
much  scope  for  antiquarian  speculation,  but  it  is  proba- 
ble that  no  satisfactory  answer  to  the  question  will  ever 
be  rendered.  The  knowledge  of  the  art  was  never 
permitted  to  go  beyond  a  fraternity  of  free-masons, 
and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  early  archives  of 
that  mysterious  association  have  survived  so  many  rev- 
olutions. 

The  history  of  the  Middle  Ages  is  occupied  chiefly 
with  the  doings  of  kings,  princes,  and  potentates.  We 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


17 


hear  little  of  the  common  people,  but  their  slaughter  in 
war.  They  were,  indeed,  regarded  but  as  ingenious 
animals,  made  to  serve  the  privileged  classes,  —  to  live, 
suffer,  or  perish,  as  might  serve  the  interest,  pleasure, 
or  caprice  of  their  masters.  As  they  had  no  political 
rights,  so  they  had  few  domestic  comforts.  They  had, 
in  their  mud  dwellings,  no  chairs,  or  chimneys.  A  heap 
of  straw  served  for  a  bed,  and  a  billet  of  wood  was  the 
only  pillow.  The  houses  of  the  rich,  at  this  period, 
afforded,  indeed,  a  striking  contrast  to  those  of  the 
present  day.  Few  of  them  contained  more  than  two 
beds.  The  walls,  which  were  of  stone,  were  generally 
bare,  without  wainscot,  or  even  plaster.  In  a  few 
instances  they  were  decorated  with  hangings. 

In  the  twelfth  century,  a  large  proportion  of  Eng- 
land was  stagnating  with  bog,  or  darkened  by  native 
forests,  where  the  wild  ox,  the  roe,  the  stag,  and  the 
wolf  had  hardly  learned  the  supremacy  of  man.  The 
culture  of  land  was  so  imperfect,  that  nine  or  ten  bushels 
of  corn  to  the  acre  was  an  average  crop.  The  average 
annual  rent  of  an  acre  of  land  was  from  sixpence  to 
a  shilling.  In  the  reign  of  Edward  the  First,  1272,  a 
quarter  of  wheat  was  sold  for  four  shillings  sterliug. 
The  price  of  a  sheep  was  a  shilling,  that  of  an  ox,  ten 
shillings.  It  appears,  that,  in  1301,  a  set  of  carpenter's 
tools  was  sold  for  one  shilling. 

At  this  period,  the  living  of  even  the  highest  nobility 
of  England  afforded  a  striking  contrast  to  that  of 
their  luxurious  descendants.  They  drank  little  wine, 
which  was  then  sold  only  by  the  apothecaries.  They 
rarely  kept  male  servants,  except  for  husbandry,  and 
still  more  rarely  travelled  beyond  their  native  country. 
2  2* 


18 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


An  income  of  ten  or  twenty  pounds  was  reckoned  a 
competent  estate  for  a  gentleman  ;  at  least,  the 
lord  of  a  single  manor  seldom  enjoyed  more.  A 
knight  who  possessed  c£  150  a  year  passed  for  ex- 
tremely rich.  Sir  John  Fortescue  speaks  of  five 
pounds  a  year  as  a  fair  living  for  a  yeoman  "  ;  and 
we  read  that  the  same  sum  served  for  the  annual  ex- 
penses of  a  scholar  attending  the  university.  Modern 
lawyers  must  be  surprised  at  the  following,  which  Mr. 
Hallam  extracts  from  the  church  warden's  accounts  of 
St.  Margaret,  Westminster,  for  1476  ;  "  Also,  paid  to 
Roger  Fylpott,  learned  in  the  law,  for  his  counsel  giv- 
ing 35.  8d.^  icith  four  pence  for  his  dinner,'''^ 

In  an  inventory  of  the  goods  of  "  John  Port,  late  the 
king's  servant,"  who  died  about  1524,  we  find  that  this 
gentleman's  house  had  consisted  of  a  hall,  parlour,  but- 
tery, and  kitchen,  with  five  bedsteads,  two  chambers, 
three  garrets,  and  some  minor  accommodations.  From 
this  it  may  be  inferred  that  Mr.  Port  was  rather  an 
important  man  in  his  day,  for  very  few  individuals  at 
that  time  could  boast  of  such  accommodations.  His 
plate  was  valued  at  £  94,  his  jewels  at  £  23.  It  ap- 
pears that  this  individual  was  esteemed  a  man  of  great 
wealth,  for  his  time. 

We  may  consider  the  Middle  Ages  as  extending  to 
the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century.  From  this  pe- 
riod we  can  trace  a  series  of  remarkable  events,  all 
tending  to  aid  in  that  sunrise  of  civilization  which  fol- 
lowed the  Dark  Ages.  The  use  of  gunpowder  in  pro- 
jecting heavy  bodies  is  said  to  have  been  discovered  by 
Berthold  Schwartz,  a  monk  of  Mayence,  about  the  year 
1300.    It  was  not  much  used  for  military  purposes  till 


GENf:RAL  VIEW. 


19 


a350  ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  not  generally  adopted  till 
near  a  century  after.  Its  ultimate  effect  has  been  to 
modify  the  art  of  war ;  to  render  it  more  dependent  on 
science  and  intellectual  combinations,  and  less  a  con- 
flict of  animal  strength  and  courage.  It  has  sunk  the 
mere  hero  of  muscle  into  insignificance,  and  given  as- 
cendency to  the  leader  who  combined  intellect  with 
skill.  It  has,  at  the  same  time,  served  to  render  wars 
less  bloody,  and  has  given  opportunity  to  soften,  with 
certain  amenities,  even  the  field  of  battle. 

The  invention  of  printing,  about  the  year  1444,  by 
Guttenberg,  also  of  Mayence,  was  the  crowning  art 
of  modern  times.  Prior  to  this,  all  books  were  written 
with  a  pen.  A  copy  of  the  Bible  required  four  years 
of  labor  even  for  an  expert  writer,  and  its  value  was 
equal  to  that  of  a  house  and  farm.  Few,  indeed,  could 
possess  such  a  treasure.  At  the  present  time,  a  single 
day's  labor  of  a  common  workman  will  purchase  two 
copies  of  this  sacred  volume.  In  the  production  of 
books,  Guttenberg's  invention  has  increased  the  power 
of  man,  probably,  five  thousand  fold.  It  now  serves 
not  only  to  record  every  passing  event,  every  useful 
invention,  every  discovery  in  art  and  science,  but  it  has 
also  written  down,  and  multiplied  in  a  thousand  forms, 
all  that  is  left  of  the  past  history  of  mankind.  Thus  all 
human  knowledge  is  placed  upon  record,  scattered 
over  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  rendered  in- 
destructible by  any  event  less  extensive  than  the  devas- 
tation of  the  entire  surface  of  the  earth.  Nor  is  even 
this  all ;  knowledge  with  its  illuminating  power  is  dif- 
fused among  all  classes  of  men  ;  it  is  everywhere 
shedding  light  upon  the  darkened  minds  of  the  mass ; 


20 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


it  is  bursting  open  the  doors  of  prisons,  sundering  the  fet- 
ters of  tyranny,  spreading  about  the  equalizing  power  of 
Christianity,  and  teaching  even  kings  and  princes  to  look 
upon  their  subjects  as  their  fellow-men,  with  rights  as 
sacred  as  their  own,  in  the  eye  of  reason  and  of  God. 

The  revival  of  letters  had  commenced  in  the  thir- 
teenth century.  Dante  was  born  in  1265,  Petrarch 
in  1304,  and  Boccaccio  in  1313.  These  shining  lights 
were  but  forerunners  of  others  that  soon  followed. 
The  discovery  or  revival  of  Justinian's  Code  of  Roman 
Law,  in  the  twelfth  century,  served  to  modify  the  bar- 
barism of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  to  make  preparation 
for  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  era.  The  invention  of  the 
mariner's  compass,  though  the  date  of  it  is  lost  in  ob- 
scurity, was  applied  to  maritime  purposes  about  the  year 
1403 ;  and  the  enlargement  of  navigation,  and  the  dis- 
covery of  America  in  1492,  were  the  important  conse- 
quences. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  the  Romish  Church  had 
acquired  and  exercised  a  powerful  ascendency  over 
the  minds  of  all  classes  of  men,  simple  and  sage,  the 
plebeian  and  the  prince.  However  our  notions  of  re- 
ligious liberty  may  be  shocked  at  the  dominion  thus 
exerted,  we  cannot  deny  that  we  owe  much  to  the 
monks  of  this  period.  Whatever  of  Christian  piety 
existed  was  excited  and  cherished  by  them  ;  copies  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures  were  chiefly  preserved  and  multi- 
plied in  the  monasteries ;  and  the  remains  of  classical 
literature  have  been  handed  down  to  us  through 
the  same  channel. 

But  the  period  at  last  arrived,  when  the  temporal 
power  of  the  Pope  was  to  receive  a  decisive  check, 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


21 


and  the  Church  over  which  he  presided  was  to  under- 
go a  fiery  trial.  Luther,  a  Saxon  monk,  began  his  at- 
tack in  1517,  and  thus  commenced  that  mighty  move- 
ment which  is  known  in  history  as  the  Reformation. 
The  result  of  this  was,  to  strip  the  see  of  Rome  of  its 
claims  to  dominion  in  secular  matters,  and  to  diffuse 
among  the  people  at  large  the  consciousness  of  a  right, 
before  denied,  to  exercise  their  private  judgment  in 
religious  concerns. 

From  this  period  we  can  see  a  rapid  advance  in  the 
march  of  civilization,  and  even  amidst  the  violent  agi- 
tations of  society.  In  1648,  Charles  the  First  of  Eng- 
land was  brought  to  the  block  for  the  exercise  of 
power  which  had  been  more  harshly  employed,  without 
opposition,  by  his  predecessors.  In  1789,  the  French 
Revolution  commenced,  and  a  heavy  reckoning  was 
rendered  for  bygone  years  of  tyranny,  profligacy,  and 
crime.  Bonaparte  rose  like  a  being  of  enchantment 
from  the  seething  caldron  of  blood,  and  strode  over  the 
earth  as  a  personification  of  Destiny,  conquering  and 
to  conquer.  Europe  in  arms  hurled  him  from  his 
pinnacle  of  power,  and  the  Bourbons  sat  once  more 
on  the  throne  of  France.  But,  while  they  had  slept, 
the  world  had  gone  on,  and  society  had  advanced  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  enduring  their  selfish  sway. 
Another  earthquake  was  necessary  to  shake  down  the  last 
lingering  remains  of  an  odious  dynasty  ;  another  revolu- 
tion, therefore,  broke  out  in  1830,  which  ended  in  sweep- 
ing away  the  relics  of  the  former  system,  and  founding 
a  monarchy  upon  the  basis  of  a  written  constitution. 

The  characteristic  of  modern  times  in  Europe  is 
agitation,  old  dynasties  have  passed  away  and  new 


22 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


ones  have  arisen ;  old  institutions  have  ceased,  and 
others  have  been  formed  in  their  place.  And  even  where 
governments  and  institutions  exist  with  the  same  external 
form  as  in  earlier  days,  there  is  generally  a  change  in 
their  spirit  and  influence.  Everywhere  there  is  a 
recognition  of  the  power  of  the  people,  and  more  or 
less  respect  to  their  rights.  There  can  be  no  better 
evidence  of  this,  than  the  steps  taken  by  Prussia, 
France,  Holland,  Belgium,  &c.,  to  bestow  education 
upon  the  mass,  by  means  of  which  they  hope  to  mould 
them  to  obedience.  They  dare  no  longer  to  count 
upon  the  ignorance  and  blindness  of  the  people  ;  they 
therefore  seek  to  throw  over  them  the  web  of  loyalty, 
by  means  of  discipline  and  association.  Prisons  are 
not  now  the  instruments  by  which  kings  expect  to  sus- 
tain their  thrones.  Even  the  emperor  of  Austria,  or 
the  czar  of  Russia,  would  lose  rather  than  gain  power 
by  building  a  Bastile.  A  system  of  general  education 
would  better  accord  with  the  policy  of  the  age. 

While,  therefore,  the  aspect  of  society  appears  to  be 
marked  with  fluctuation,  like  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
we  can  perceive  a  general  onward  tide  of  improve- 
ment. While  the  political  and  religious  liberties  of 
the  people  are  becoming  better  understood  and  more 
generally  acknowledged,  the  arts  which  contribute  to 
their  happiness  are  being  more  extensively  diffused. 
The  mass  are  better  able  to  obtain  a  living  than  formerly, 
and  their  standard  of  comfort  is  daily  becoming  higher. 

Another  remarkable  characteristic  of  modern  times 
is  the  application  of  science  to  the  arts.  Science  is  no 
longer  a  being  of  the  closet,  —  holding  itself  aloof  in 
mysterious  abstraction  from  mankind ;  but  it  conde- 


GENERAL  VIEW. 


23 


scends  to  mingle  in  the  common  affairs  of  iife  ;  it  is 
"  found  in  the  smithy  and  at  the  forge  ;  it  is  in  the  fac- 
tory, the  foundery,  and  the  machme  shop  ;  it  is  upon 
the  farm,  and  in  the  kitchen  ;  it  is  in  the  toiling  steam- 
er on  the  ocean,  and  the  whizzing  car  upon  the  rail- 
road track ;  it  is  in  the  city,  lighting  it  with  gas,  —  in 
the  mine  a  hundred  fathoms  deep,  protecting  its  labor- 
ers from  the  fatal  fire-damp  ;  it  is  in  the  wick  of  the 
Argand  lamp,  in  the  stearin  candle,  and  the  friction 
match.  Everywhere  the  discoveries  of  science  are 
made  applicable  to  the  arts  of  life,  and  in  a  thousand 
forms  they  are  contributing  to  make  existence  more 
comfortable  and  more  desirable  to  the  mass  of  man- 
kind. 


Vieiv  of  Athens. 


ANCIENT  GREECE. 

Greece  is  situated  on  the  nortliern  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean,  between  the  Ionian  and  the  ^gean 
seas.  It  is  a  beautiful  country  of  hills  and  valleys, 
like  W ales,  or  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  Some  of  the 
hills  are  so  high  as  to  be  constantly  covered  with  snow. 
The  vales  enjoy  a  mild  climate,  and  are  of  extreme 


ANCIENT  GREECE. 


25 


fertility.  Some  of  them,  as  Tempe  and  Arcadia,  are 
spoken  of  with  raptm^e  by  the  poets  of  ancient  times. 

As  the  country  was  much  divided  by  hills  and  seas,  it 
was  separated,  from  an  early  period,  into  several  states, 
which  were  under  different  governments,  and  often 
made  war  upon  each  other.  The  southern  peninsula, 
anciently  styled  the  Peloponnesus,  and  now  the  Mo- 
rea,  was  divided  into  Laconia,  —  containing  the  cele- 
brated city  of  Sparta,  —  Argolis,  Arcadia,  Elis,  and  Mes- 
senia,  each  of  which  was  only  about  the  size  of  a 
moderate  English  county.  Middle  Greece,  now  Li- 
vadia,  to  the  north  of  the  Peloponnesus,  and  connect- 
ed with  it  by  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  on  which  lay  the 
city  of  that  name,  contained  Attica,  in  which  was  the 
city  of  Athens,  Megaris,  Boeotia,  in  which  was  the 
city  of  Thebes,  Phocis,  Locris,  Doris,  ^Etolia,  and 
Acarnania.  Northern  Greece  contained  Thessaly, 
now  the  district  of  Jannina ;  Epirus,  now  Albania  ; 
and  Macedonia,  now  Filiba  Vilajeti ;  the  last  of  which 
became  distinctly  incorporated  with  Greece,  only  in  the 
era  of  Philip  and  Alexander,  between  three  and  four 
hundred  years  before  Christ. 

To  the  east  of  Greece  Proper  lay  the  numerous 
islands  of  the  jEgcan  Sea,  with  which  may  be  included 
certain  islands  lying  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea  in  the 
same  direction,  the  principal  of  which  were  Rhodes, 
Cyprus,  and  the  Cyclades.  To  the  south  lay  Cythera, 
now  Cerigo,  and  Crete,  now  Candia.  To  the  west,  in 
the  Ionian  Sea,  lay  Corcyra,  now  Corfu  ;  Cephalonia, 
Ithaca,  and  others,  now  constituting  the  distinct  con- 
federacy of  the  Ionian  Islands,  under  the  protection  of 
Great  Britain 

VIII. — 3 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


-  Grecian  history  commences  about  eighteen  hundred 
years  before  Christ.  The  thousand  years  preceding 
875,  B.  C,  when  Lycurgus  gave  laws  to  Sparta,  are 
considered  as  not  strictly  historical,  inasmuch  as  the 
events  which  distinguish  them  have  been  commemo- 
rated chiefly  by  tradition  and  poetry.  Yet,  however 
mingled  with  fable,  the  history  of  this  long  period  is 
not  unworthy  of  notice,  seeing  that  the  Greeks  them- 
selves believed  in  it,  and  made  its  incidents  and  heroes 
the  theme  of  perpetual  allusion  in  their  poetry,  and 
even  a  part  of  their  religion. 

According  to  the  Greek  poets,  the  original  inhabit- 
ants of  the  country,  denominated  Pelasgians,  as  we 
have  already  stated,  were  a  race  of  savages,  who  lived 
in  caves,  and  clothed  themselves  with  the  skins  of 
wild  beasts.  Uranus,  an  Egyptian  prince,  landed  in 
the  country,  and  became  the  father  of  a  family  of 
giants,  named  Titans,  who  rebelled  against  and  de- 
throned him.  His  son,  Saturn,  who  reigned  in  his 
stead,  in  order  to  prevent  the  like  fortune  from  be- 
falling himself,  ordered  all  his  own  children  to  be  put 
to  death  as  soon  as  they  were  born.    But  one,  named 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY.  27 

Jupiter,  was  concealed  by  the  mother,  and  reared  in 
the  island  of  Crete,  from  which,  in  time,  he  returned, 
and  deposed  his  father.  The  Titans,  jealous  of  this 
new  prince,  rebelled  against  him,  but  were  vanquished 
and  expelled  from  Greece. 

Jupiter  divided  his  dominions  with  his  brothers, 
Neptune  and  Pluto.  The  countries  which  he  reserved 
to  himself  he  governed  with  great  wisdom,  holding  his 
court  on  Mount  Olympus,  a  hill  in  Thessaly,  seven 
thousand  feet  in  height,  and  the  loftiest  in  Greece. 
Any  truth  which  there  might  be  in  the  story  of  the 
Titans  and  their  princes  was  completely  disguised  by 
the  poets  and  by  the  popular  imagination.  Saturn, 
Jupiter,  Neptune,  and  Pluto  were  looked  back  to,  not 
as  mortals,  but  as  deities ;  and  the  top  of  Mount 
Olympus  was  supposed  to  be  the  heavenly  residence 
of  the  gods  by  whom  the  affairs  of  mortals  were  gov- 
erned. For  ages  after  the  dawn  of  philosophy,  these 
deified  sons  of  Saturn,  and  numberless  others  con- 
nected with  them,  were  the  objects  of  the  national 
worship,  not  only  among  the  Greeks,  but  also  among 
the  Romans. 

At  an  uncertain,  but  very  early  date,  an  Asiatic 
people,  named  the  Hellenes,  migrated  into  Greece, 
in  some  cases  expelling  the  Pelasgi,  and  in  others 
intermingling  with  them,  so  that,  in  process  of  time,  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Greece  came  to  be  called  Hellenes. 
They  were,  however,  divided  into  several  races,  the 
principal  of  which  were  named  Dorians,  iEolians,  and 
lonians,  and  each  of  these  spoke  a  dialect  differing  in 
some  respects  from  those  made  use  of  by  the  others. 
These  dialects  were  named  the  Doric,  ^olic,  and 


28 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


Ionic,  in  reference  to  the  tribes  which  used  them  ;  and 
a  fourth,  which  was  afterwards  formed  from  the  Ionic, 
was  named  the  Attic,  from  its  being  spoken  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Attica. 


Inachus  laying  the  Foundation  of  Argos. 


In  the  year  1856,  B.  C,  Inachus,  a  Phoenician  ad- 
venturer, is  said  to  have  arrived  in  Greece,  at  the 
head  of  a  small  band  of  his  countrymen.  Phoenicia,  a 
small  state  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean, 
was  at  this  time  one  of  the  few  countries,  including 
Egypt  and  Assyria,  in  which  some  degree  of  civiliza- 
tion prevailed,  while  all  the  rest  of  the  people  of  the 
earth  remained  in  their  original  barbarism,  like  the 
Pelasgians  before  the  supposed  arrival  of  Uranus. 
Navigation  for  the  purposes  of  commerce,  and  the  art 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


29 


of  writing,  are  said  to  have  originated  with  the  Phoe- 
nicians. On  their  arrival  in  Greece,  Inachus  and  his 
friends  founded  the  city  of  Argos,  at  the  head  of  what 
is  now  called  the  Gulf  of  Napoli,  in  the  Peloponnesus. 

Three  hundred  years  after  this  event,  1556,  B.  C, 
a  colony,  led  by  an  Egyptian,  named  Cecrops,  arrived 
in  Attica,  and  founded  the  celebrated  city  of  Athens, 
fortifying  a  high  rock  which  rose  precipitously  above 
the  site  afterwards  occupied  by  the  town.  Egypt  is 
situated  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Africa.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and 
is  watered  by  the  great  river  Nile,  the  periodical  over- 
flowings of  which,  by  supplying  the  moisture  necessary 
for  vegetation,  render  the  soil  very  fertile.  From 
this  country,  which  had,  at  a  very  early  period,  made 
considerable  advances  in  some  of  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, Cecrops  introduced  much  valuable  knowledge  to 
the  rude  inhabitants  of  Attica,  whom  he  had  persuaded 
or  obliged  to  acknowledge  him  as  their  chief  or  king. 
He  placed  his  rocky  fastness  under  the  protection  of 
an  Egyptian  goddess,  from  whose  Greek  name,  Athena, 
afterwards  changed  by  the  Latins  into  Minerva,  the 
city  which  subsequently  arose  around  the  rock  was 
called  Athens. 

About  the  year  1493,  B.  C,  Cadmus,  a  Phoenician, 
founded  the  city  of  Thebes  in  Boeotia  ;  and,  among 
other  useful  things  which  he  communicated  to  the 
Greeks,  he  is  said  to  have  taught  them  alphabetical 
writing,  although  it  is  certain  that  that  art  did  not  come 
into  common  use  in  Greece  until  many  centuries  after 
this  period. 

The  city  of  Corinth,  situated  on  the  narrow  isthmus 
3* 


30  PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 

which  connects  the  Peloponnesus  with  the  main  land 
of  Greece,  was  founded  in  the  year  1520,  B.  C,  and 
from  its  very  advantageous  position  on  the  arm  of  the 
sea  to  which  it  anciently  gave  a  name,  but  which  is 
now  known  under  the  appellation  of  the  Gulf  of  Le- 
panto,  it  very  soon  became  a  place  of  considerable 
commercial  importance.  Sparta  or  Lacedsemon,  the 
celebrated  capital  of  Laconia  in  the  Peloponnesus,  is 
said  to  have  been  founded,  about  1520,  B.  C,  by  Lelex, 
an  Egyptian. 

In  the  year  1485,  B.  C,  an  Egyptian,  named  Danaus, 
accompanied  by  a  party  of  his  countrymen,  arrived  at 
Argos,  the  inhabitants  of  which  must  have  been,  at 
that  period,  in  an  exceedingly  rude  state,  since  it  is 
said  that  he  excited  their  gratitude  so  much  by  teach- 
ing them  to  dig  wells,  when  the  streams  from  which 
they  were  supplied  with  water  were  dried  up  with  the 
heat,  that  they  elected  him  as  their  king. 

More  than  a  century  after  this  period,  about  1350, 
B.  C,  Pelops,  the  son  of  a  king  of  Phrygia,  a  country 
in  Asia  Minor,  settled  in  that  part  of  Greece  which 
was  afterwards  called,  from  him,  Peloponnesus,  or  the 
island  of  Pelops,  where  he  married  the  daughter  of  one 
of  the  native  princes,  whom  he  afterwards  succeeded 
on  the  throne.  In  the  course  of  his  long  reign,  he 
found  means  to  strengthen  and  greatly  extend  his  in- 
fluence in  Greece,  by  forming  matrimonial  alliances 
between  various  branches  of  his  own  house  and  the 
other  royal  families  of  the  Peloponnesus.  Agamem^ 
non,  king  of  Mycense,  in  Argolis,  who  was,  according 
to  the  poet  Homer,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Greeks  at  the  siege  of  Troy,  and  Menelaus,  king  of 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY, 


31 


Sparta,  on  account  of  whose  wrongs  that  war  was  un- 
dertaken, were  descended  from  this  Phrygian  adven- 
turer. 

Hercules,  a  Theban  prince,  was  another  of  the  de- 
scendants of  Pelops.  The  numerous  and  extraordinary- 
feats  of  strength  and  valor  of  Hercules  excited  the 
admiration  of  his  contemporaries,  and,  being  after- 
wards exaggerated  and  embellished  by  the  poets,  caused 
him  at  length  to  be  regarded  as  a  person  endowed  with 
supernatural  powers,  and  even  to  be  worshipped  as  a 
god. 


Young  Hercules. 


According  to  the  poets,  Hercules  was  the  son  of  the 
god  Jupiter,  and  of  Alcmena,  daughter  of  Electryon, 
king  of  Mycenae.    Before  his  birth,  his  mother  mar- 


32 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


ried  Amphitryon,  king  of  Thebes,  by  whom  the  in- 
fant Hercules  was  adopted  as  his  son.  While  yet  a 
child  in  the  cradle,  he  is  fabled  to  have  crushed  to 
death  two  snakes  which  the  goddess  Juno  had  sent  to 
destroy  him.  After  he  grew  up,  he  performed  many 
heroic  and  extraordinary  actions,  commonly  called  his 
"  labors."  Among  these  was  the  destroying  a  dread- 
ful lion,  by  clasping  his  arms  round  its  neck  and  thus 
choking  it  to  death. 

Another  of  the  fabled  labors  of  Hercules  was  his 
destroying  the  hydra  of  Lerna.  This  was  a  mon- 
strous seven-headed  serpent,  which  haunted  the  small 
lake  of  Lerna,  now  Molini,  in  Argolis,  and  filled  with 
terror  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the 
country.  Hercules  dauntlessly  attacked  it,  and  struck 
off  several  of  its  heads  with  his  club.  But  these  won- 
derful heads  were  no  sooner  beaten  off  than  others 
grew  out,  so  that  it  seemed  an  impossibility  to  kill  a  mon- 
ster whose  injuries  were  so  quickly  repaired.  At  last, 
one  of  the  companions  of  Hercules  having,  at  the 
hero's  request,  seared  with  a  hot  iron  the  necks  of  the 
hydra  as  fast  as  each  decapitation  was  accomplished. 
It  was  found  that  the  heads  did  not  afterwards  grow 
out  again,  and  Hercules  was  thus  enabled  to  complete 
the  destruction  of  the  reptile. 

Another  achievement  of  Hercules,  to  which  allusion 
is  often  made  by  modern  writers,  was  the  cleaning  of 
the  stables  of  Augeas,  King  of  Elis,  in  which  three 
thousand  cattle  had  been  kept  for  thirty  years,  without 
any  attempt  having  been  made,  during  all  that  time, 
to  remove  the  accumulating  filth.  This  much  requir- 
ed purification  the  hero  accomplished  by  turning  into 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


33 


the  stables  a  river  which  flowed  in  the  vicinity.  Her- 
cules also  undertook  an  expedition  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  off  the  cattle  of  Geryon,  King  of  Gades,  now 
Cadiz,  in  Spain.  Geryon  is  represented  as  having 
been  a  monster  with  three  heads,  and  a  proportionate 
supply  of  arms  and  legs,  and  to  have  ruled  over  the 
greater  part  of  Spain  with  the  utmost  cruelty.  He  was 
killed  by  Hercules,  who  brought  away  his  valuable 
flocks  in  triumph.  In  this  expedition  he  is  said  to  have 
formed  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  in  order  to  open  a 
communication  between  the  Mediterranean  and  At- 
lantic, by  rending  asunder  Spain  and  Africa,  which 
had  until  then  been  connected  together.  Two  moun- 
tains, one  on  each  side  of  the  strait,  raised  by  him  in 
the  execution  of  his  task,  were  called  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules,  and  the  appellation  is  not  unfrequently  made 
use  of  even  at  the  present  day. 

After  many  adventures  in  foreign  countries,  he  re- 
turned to  the  Peloponnesus,  where  he  took  to  wife  a 
lady  named  Dejanira.  For  a  while  they  lived  happily 
together,  but,  at  last,  believing  that  Hercules  had  be- 
come less  attached  to  her  than  formerly,  his  consort 
presented  him  with  a  tunic  steeped  in  a  mixture  which 
she  expected  to  operate  as  a  charm  in  regaining  for 
her  his  affections,  but  which  was  in  reality  a  deadly 
poison,  artfully  placed  in  her  hands  by  an  enemy.  As 
soon  as  Hercules  had  put  on  this  fatal  garment,  he 
was  attacked  with  the  most  excruciating  pain,  and  being 
anxious  to  put  a  period  as  speedily  as  possible  to  his 
agonies,  he  stretched  himself  upon  a  funeral  pile,  and 
caused  a  friend  to  set  it  on  fire.  His  spirit  is  said  to 
have  ascended  to  heaven  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  four 


34 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


horses,  which  Jupiter,  the  king  of  the  gods,  transmit- 
ted to  earth  for  the  purpose,  and  Juno,  the  celestial 
queen,  gave  him  her  daughter  Hebe  as  his  wife.  De- 
janira,  on  learning  the  unfortunate  result  of  her  at- 
tempt to  recover  her  husband's  love,  put  an  end  to  her 
life  in  despair. 

Such  are  the  wild  fictions  which  have  been  handed 
down  respecting  Hercules,  who  was  in  reality  nothing 
more  than  a  Greek  prince  of  great  valor  and  bodily 
strength.  Having  been  expelled  from  Mycenae  by  a 
rival  claimant  of  the  throne  of  that  state,  he  appears 
to  have  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  wandering 
about  Greece  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  military  followers, 
sometimes  attacking  and  destroying  the  robber  chiefs 
and  petty  tyrants,  who  at  a  rude  and  unsettled  period 
abounded  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  on  other  oc- 
casions engaging  in  predatory  expeditions  himself. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Hercules,  1263,  B.  C,  Ja- 
son, a  prince  of  Thessaly,  made  a  voyage  to  Colchis, 
a  country  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Euxine  or  Black 
Sea.  His  enterprise  was  afterwards  greatly  celebrated 
under  the  name  of  the  Argonautic  Expedition,  from 
the  Argo,  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed.  This  ship  is 
generally  referred  to  by  the  ancients  as  the  first  that 
ever  ventured  on  a  long  voyage.  It  is  uncertain 
what  was  the  real  object  of  the  Argonautic  expe- 
dition, although  it  seems  probable  that,  as  Colchis  was 
rich  in  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  Jason  and  his  com- 
panions, among  whom  were  Hercules  and  several 
other  persons  of  distinction,  were  actuated  by  a  desire 
to  rob  the  'country  of  some  of  its  valuable  metals. 
The  poets,  liowever,  tell  us  a  different  story.  Phryxus 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


35 


and  Helle,  the  son  and  daughter  of  Athamas,  king  of 
Thebes,  being  compelled,  according  to  the  poetical 
account,  to  quit  their  native  country  to  avoid  the  cru- 
elty of  their  step-mother,  mounted  on  the  back  of  a 
winged  ram  with  a  fleece  of  gold,  and  were  carried 
by  this  wonderful  animal  through  the  air  towards 
Colchis,  where  an  uncle  of  theirs,  named  iEetes,  was 
king.  Unfortunately,  as  they  were  passing  over  the 
strait  now  called  the  Dardanelles,  which  connected  the 
iEgean  Sea  with  the  Propontis,  or  Sea  of  Marmora, 
Helle  became  giddy,  and,  falling  into  the  water,  was 
drowned.  From  her,  says  the  fable,  the  strait  was  in 
future  named  the  Hellespont,  or  Sea  of  Helle. 


Phryxus  sacrificing  the  winged  Ram. 


When  Phryxus  arrived  in  Colchis,  he  sacrificed  his 
winged  ram  to  Jupiter,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  divine 


36 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


protection,  and  deposited  its  golden  fleece  in  the  same 
deity's  temple.  He  then  married  the  daughter  of 
jEetes,  but  was  afterwards  murdered  by  that  king,  who 
wished  to  obtain  possession  of  the  golden  fleece.  To 
avenge  Phryxus's  death,  Jason,  who  was  his  relation, 
undertook  the  expedition  to  Colchis,  where,  after  per- 
forming several  marvellous  exploits,  he  not  only  ob- 
tained the  golden  fleece,  but  persuaded  Medea,  an- 
other daughter  of  King  iEetes,  to  become  his  wife,  and 
to  accompany  him  back  to  Greece. 


Theseus  carrying  off  Helen. 

In  the  year  1234,  B.  C,  Theseus  came  to  the  throne 
of  Athens.  He  was  one  of  the  most  renowned  charac- 
ters in  the  heroic  age  of  Greece,  not  only  on  account 
of  his  warlike  achievements,  but  from  his  political  wis- 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


37 


dom.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  he  is  said  to  have 
accompanied  Hercules  in  one  of  his  expeditions,  and 
carried  off  the  beautiful  Helen,  daughter  of  Tynda- 
rus,  King  of  Lacedeemon.  She  was  recovered,  how- 
ever, by  her  gallant  brothers.  Castor  and  Pollux,  who 
ravaged  Attica  in  revenge  for  the  insult  offered  to  their 
sister. 

The  Lacedaemonian  princess  who  was  stolen  away 
by  Theseus  afterwards  became  the  occasion  of  a  cel- 
ebrated war.  The  fame  of  her  great  beauty  having 
spread  far  and  wide,  many  of  the  princes  of  Greece 
asked  her  from  her  father  Tyndarus  in  marriage  ;  but 
he,  being  fearful  of  incurring  the  enmity  of  the  re- 
jected suitors,  declined  showing  a  preference  for  any 
of  them.  Assembling  them  all,  he  bound  them  by  an 
oath  to  acquiesce  in  the  selection  which  Helen  herself 
should  make,  and  to  protect  her  against  any  attempts 
which  might  afterwards  be  made  to  carry  her  off  from 
the  husband  of  her  choice.  Helen  gave  the  prefer- 
ence to  Menelaus,  a  grandson  of  Pelops,  and  this  suc- 
cessful suitor,  on  the  death  of  Tyndarus,  was  raised  to 
the  Spartan  throne. 

At  this  period,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Asia 
Minor,  on  the  shores  of  the  Hellespont  and  the  ^gean 
seas,  there  existed  a  kingdom,  the  capital  of  which 
was  a  large,  well  fortified  city,  named  Troy,  or 
Ilium.  Priam,  the  king  of  Troy,  had  a  son  whose  name 
was  Paris  ;  and  this  young  chief,  in  the  course  of  a 
visit  to  Greece,  resided  for  a  time  in  Sparta  at  the 
court  of  Menelaus,  who  gave  the  Asiatic  stranger  a 
very  friendly  reception.  Charmed  with  Helen's  beauty, 
Paris  employed  the  opportunity  afforded  by  a  tem- 
VIII.— 4 


38 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


poraiy  absence  of  her  husband,  to  gain  her  affections, 
and  persuaded  her  to  elope  with  him  to  Troy.  It  was 
not,  according  to  the  old  poets,  to  his  personal  attrac- 
tions, great  as  they  were,  that  Paris  owed  his  success 
on  this  occasion,  but  to  the  aid  of  the  goddess  of  love, 
whose  favor  he  had  won  by  assigning  to  her  the  palm 
of  beauty,  on  an  occasion  when  it  was  contested  be- 
tween her  and  two  other  female  deities. 

When  Menelaus  returned  home,  he  was  naturally 
wroth  at  finding  his  hospitality  so  ill  requited,  and, 
after  having  in  vain  endeavoured,  both  by  remonstran- 
ces and  threats,  to  induce  the  Trojans  to  send  him  back 
his  queen,  he  applied  to  the  princes  who  had  formerly 
been  Helen's  lovers,  and  called  upon  them  to  aid  him, 
according  to  their  oaths,  in  recovering  her  from  her 
seducer.  They  obeyed  the  summons  ;  and  all  Greece 
being  indignant  at  the  insult  offered  to  Menelaus,  a 
general  muster  of  the  forces  of  the  various  states  took 
place  at  Aulis,  a  sea-port  town  of  Boeotia,  preparatory 
to  their  crossing  the  ^gean  to  the  Trojan  shore. 
This  is  supposed  to  have  happened  in  the  year  1194, 
B.  C. 

Of  the  chiefs  assembled  on  this  occasion,  the  most 
celebrated  were,  Agamemnon,  king  of  Mycense  ;  Me- 
nelaus, king  of  Sparta  ;  Ulysses,  king  of  Ithaca ;  Nes- 
tor, king  of  Pylos ;  Achilles,  son  of  the  king  of  Thes- 
saly  ;  Ajax,  of  Salamis  ;  Diomedes,  of  jEtolia  ;  and 
Idomeneus,  of  Crete.  Agamemnon,  the  brother  of 
the  injured  Menelaus,  was  elected  commander-in-chief 
of  the  confederate  Greeks.  According  to  some  an- 
cient authors,  this  general  was  barbarous  enough  to 
sacrifice  his  daughter,  Iphigenia,  to  induce  the  gods  to 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


39 


send  a  favoring  gale  to  the  Grecian  fleet  when  it  was 
detained  by  contrary  winds  in  the  port  of  Aulis  ;  but 
as  the  earUest  writers  respecting  the  Trojan  war  make 
no  mention  of  this  unnatural  act,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
it  never  was  performed. 

The  Grecian  armament  consisted  of  almost  twelve 
hundred  vessels,  with  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men  in  each,  and  the  army  which  warred 
against  Troy  is  supposed  to  have  amounted  altogether 
to  about  one  hundred  thousand  men.  The  Trojans, 
although  reinforced  by  auxiliary  bands  from  Assyria, 
Thrace,  and  Asia  Minor,  were  unable  to  withstand  the 
Greeks  in  the  open  country,  and  they  therefore  soon 
retired  within  the  walls  of  their  city. 

In  those  early  times  men  were  unskilled  in  the  art 
of  reducing  fortified  places,  and  the  Greeks  knew  of 
no  speedier  way  of  taking  Troy  than  blockading  it  till 
the  inhabitants  should  be  compelled  by  famine  to  sur- 
render. But  here  a  new  diflaculty  arose.  No  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  for  supplying  the  invaders  with 
provisions  during  a  lengthened  siege  ;  and  after  they 
had  plundered  and  laid  waste  the  surrounding  country, 
they  began  to  be  in  as  great  danger  of  starvation  as 
the  besieged.  The  supplies  which  arrived  from  Greece 
were  scanty  and  irregular,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
detach  a  part  of  the  forces  to  cultivate  the  plains  of 
the  Chersonesus  of  Thrace,  in  order  to  raise  crops  for 
the  support  of  themselves  and  their  brethren  in  arms. 

The  Grecian  army  being  thus  weakened,  the  Tro- 
jans were  encouraged  to  make  frequent  sallies,  in 
which  they  were  led  generally  by  the  valiant  Hector, 
Priam's  eldest  and  noblest  son.    Many  skirmishes  took 


40 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


place,  and  innumerable  deeds  of  individual  heroism 
were  performed,  none  of  which  led  to  any  important  re- 
sult, for  the  opposing  armies  were  so  equally  matched, 
that  neither  could  obtain  any  decisive  advantage  over 
the  other.  At  length,  after  a  siege  of  no  less  than  ten 
years,  in  the  course  of  which  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished leaders  on  both  sides  were  slain,  Troy  was 
taken,  its  inhabitants  slaughtered,  and  its  edifices  burnt 
to  the  ground,  1184,  B.  C. 


The  Wooden  Horse. 


According  to  the  poets,  it  was  by  a  stmtagem  that 
this  famous  city  was  at  last  overcome.  They  tell  us 
that  the  Greeks  constructed  a  wooden  horse  of  pro- 
digious size,  in  the  body  of  which  they  concealed  a 
number  of  armed  men,  and  then  retired  towards  the 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


41 


sea-shore  to  induce  the  enemy  to  believe  that  the  be- 
siegers had  given  up  the  enterprise,  and  were  about  to 
return  home.  Deceived  by  this  manoeuvre,  the  Tro- 
jans brought  the  gigantic  horse  into  the  city,  and  the 
men  who  had  been  concealed  within  it,  stealing  out  in 
the  night  time,  unbarred  the  gates  and  admitted  the 
Grecian  army  within  the  walls.  The  siege  of  Troy 
forms  the  subject  of  Homer's  sublime  poem,  the  Iliad, 
in  which  the  real  events  of  the  siege  are  intermingled 
with  many  fictions  and  supernatural  incidents. 

The  Greek  princes  discovered  that  their  triumph 
over  Troy  was  dearly  paid  for  by  their  subsequent  suf- 
ferings, and  the  disorganization  of  their  kingdoms  at 
home.  Ulysses,  if  we  may  believe  the  poets,  spent 
ten  years  in  wandering  over  seas  and  lands  before  ar- 
riving in  the  island  of  Ithaca.  Others  of  the  leaders 
died,  or  were  shipwrecked  on  their  way  home,  and 
several  of  those  who  succeeded  in  reaching  their  own 
dominions  found  their  thrones  occupied  by  usurpers, 
and  were  compelled  to  return  to  their  vessels,  and  seek 
in  distant  lands  a  place  of  rest  and  security  for  their 
declining  years.  But  the  fate  of  Agamemnon,  the  re- 
nowned general  of  the  Greeks,  was  the  most  deplora- 
ble of  all.  On  his  return  to  Argos,  he  was  assassinat- 
ed by  his  wife,  Clytemnestra,  who  had  formed  an  at- 
tachment, during  his  absence,  to  another  person.  Aga- 
memnon's son,  Orestes,  was  driven  into  exile,  but 
afterwards  returned  to  Argos,  and,  putting  his  mother 
and  her  accomplices  to  death,  established  himself  upon 
the  throne. 

At  Delphi,  in  Phocis,  there  was  a  temple  of  Apollo, 
to  the  priest  of  v/hich  the  Greeks  were  wont  to  apply 
4* 


42  PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 

for  information  regarding  future  events,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  people  of  comparatively  recent  times 
were  accustomed  to  consult  astrologers,  soothsayers, 
and  other  artful  impostors,  on  similar  questions.  Now, 
Codrus,  king  of  Athens,  had  learned  that  the  Peloponne- 
sians  had  received  at  Delphi  a  prophetical  response  br 
oracle,  to  the  effect  that  they  should  be  victorious  in  the 
war,  if  they  did  not  kill  the  Athenian  king.  Determined 
to  save  his  country  at  the  expense  of  his  own  life,  Codrus 
disguised  himself  in  a  peasant's  dress,  entered  the  Pe- 
loponnesian  camp,  and  provoked  a  quarrel  with  a  sol- 
dier, by  whom  he  was  killed. 


Codrus  slain. 


It  is  not  our  purpose  to  trace  the  events  of  Grecian 
history  in  detail.    We  have  space  only  to  state  that 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY.  43 

several  of  the  states  rose  to  a  great  pitch  of  power  and 
civilization,  and  continued  for  centuries  to  -excel  all 
other  nations  in  arts  and  arms.  Athens  took  the  lead 
in  refinement,  and  became  renowned  for  her  architects, 
sculptors,  painters,  orators,  poets,  and  philosophers. 
The  works  of  these,  some  of  which  are  preserved, 
still  excite  the  admiration  of  mankind.  The  golden 
age  of  Athenian  history  is  that  of  Pericles,  who  flour- 
ished 445  years  B.  C.  The  city  of  Athens  at  that 
period  was  adorned  with  a  multitude  of  the  most  splen- 
did public  edifices,  and  these  were  ornamented  with 
the  finest  statues  the  world  has  ever  seen.  The  fine 
arts  had  now  reached  their  greatest  degree  of  perfec- 
tion, and  Athenian  civilization  its  highest  point. 

Sparta  was  famous  for  the  martial  character  of  its 
people,  and  for  a  stern  patriotism  which  sacrificed 
every  thing  to  the  good  of  the  state.  Here  the  fine 
arts  were  spurned,  literature  contemned,  and  the  social 
aflections  repressed ;  affording  a  complete  contrast  to 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Athens. 

There  are  two  things  in  Grecian  history  which  can- 
not fail  to  excite  our  admiration  ;  the  splendid  achieve- 
ments of  the  Greeks  in  war,  and  the  host  of  great  men 
they  produced.  About  the  year  480,  B.  C,  Xerxes, 
an  Asiatic  king,  assailed  the  country  with  an  army  of 
several  millions.  He  was  met  by  the  fearless  Greeks 
with  indomitable  valor ;  his  squadrons  were  cut  to 
pieces,  and  the  baffled  monarch  was  driven  back  in 
disgrace  to  his  own  dominions.  This  was  but  one  of 
the  mighty  acts  of  this  remarkable  people. 

Among  the  great  names  that  glitter  along  the  pages 
of  Grecian  history,  we  may  mention  Homer,  the  most 


44  PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


famous  of  ancient  poets  ;  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle, 
the  greatest  of  ancient  philosophers  ;  Leonidas,  Aris- 
tides,  Alcibiade:^,  Themistocles,  and  many  other  dis- 


Xerxes  surveying  his  Army. 

tinguished  generals ;  Philip  and  Alexander,  renowned 
conquerors ;  Praxiteles,  the  most  celebrated  of  sculp- 
tors ;  Pericles  and  Demosthenes,  illustrious  orators. 

The  liberties  of  Greece  received  a  fatal  shock  in 
the  assumption  of  supreme  authority  by  Philip  of 
Macedon,  after  the  bloody  battle  of  Chseronea,  338,  B.  C. 
This  passed  to  his  son,  Alexander,  and,  after  his  death, 
to  his  successor.  The  declining  sun  of  Grecian  glory 
gradually  went  down,  and  finally  set  in  the  year  146, 
B.  C,  when  Greece  became  a  Roman  province,  under 
the  name  of  Achaia. 


PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 


45 


But,  although  Ancient  Greece  was  thus  blotted  out  as 
an  independent  country,  its  glory  can  never  pass  away. 
It  has  handed  down  to  us  many  of  the  finest  examples 
of  patriotism  and  friendship  ;  the  noblest  specimens 
of  architecture  ;  the  most  perfect  models  of  sculpture  ; 
and  specimens  of  poetry  and  oratory  which  are  still 
regarded  as  master-pieces  in  these  noble  arts.  The 
works  of  the  philosophers  of  Greece  have  been  studied 
for  more  than  two  thousand  years  as  fountains  of 
knowledge  ;  and  Plato  and  Aristotle  are  regarded,  at  the 
present  day,  as  among  the  master  spirits  who  continue 
to  rule  over  the  thinking  world. 

To  the  Greeks  we  are  chiefly  indebted  for  the  in- 
vention of  that  ancient  mythology  of  which  Jupiter 
was  the  head.  This  had,  no  doubt,  its  foundation  in 
real  history  ;  but  upon  a  slight  basis  of  reality  a  most 
fanciful  fabric  was  reared  by  the  poets.  The  manner 
in  which  poetry  may  pass  into  history  is  easily  seen 
by  any  one  who  has  recently  visited  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland.  When  the  traveller  is  conducted  over  Loch 
Katrine  and  its  borders,  the  scene  of  "  The  Lady  of  the 
Lake,"  he  is  told  by  his  guide,  "  There  is  the  place 
where  Fitz  James's  '  gallant  gray  '  fell,  —  yonder 
gravelly  spot  is  the  '  silver  strand,'  where  the  chief- 
tain first  met  Ellen, —  there  is  'Ellen's  Isle,'  and 
that  gnarled  ash  is  the  tree  to  which  she  tied  her 
boat.  That  rugged  knoll  was  Roderick  Dhu's  castle, 
and  upon  the  top  of  it  he  and  Fitz  James  slept  to- 
gether. There  is  Ben  Venue,  and  far  up,  near  its 
top,  is  the  '  Goblin's  Cave.'  Yonder  is  Ben  Ain,  and 
there  is  Coilantogle  ford,  where  the  two  champions 
closed  in  deadly  encounter." 


46  PASSAGES  IN  GRECIAN  HISTORY. 

Such  is  the  account  given  by  the  guide,  pointing  out 
actual  localities,  and  connecting  them  with  events, 
which,  though  the  mere  invention  of  the  poet,  are  still 
spoken  of  as  no  less  real  than  the  "  rocks,  mounds, 
and  knolls "  which  are  before  the  eye.  How  soon 
will  these  guides  get  to  feel  that  the  fictions  they  re- 
peat are  histories,  and  that  Fitz  James,  Ellen,  and 
Roderick  Dhu,  were  as  much  realities,  as  the  objects 
with  which  the  wizard  "  harp  of  the  north  "  has  as- 
sociated them  !  The  children  of  these  guides  will 
believe,  as  real,  what  their  fathers  told  as  fiction ;  and 
if  we  suppose  such  a  process  as  this  to  take  place  in 
a  dark  age,  when  there  are  no  books,  we  can  see  how 
easily  the  fictions  of  the  poet  pass  into  the  received 
chronicles  of  the  historian. 


Mount  Olymjpus. 

GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 

The  religious  beliefs  and  observances  of  the  Greeks, 
constituting  their  mythology,  are  intimately  connected 
with  the  fabulous  and  poetical  portion  of  their  history. 
It  has  already  been  stated,  that  Uranus,  his  son  Saturn, 
and  his  grandsons,  Jupiter,  Neptune,  and  Pluto,  appear 
to  have  been  the  chiefs  of  a  colony  of  Egyptians  who 
settled  in  Greece  at  an  exceedingly  remote  period,  and 
that  after  their  death  their  ignorant  posterity  came  in 
course  of  time  to  regard  them  as  gods,  and  to  pay  them 
divine  honors  accordingly. 

According  to  the  poets,  who  were  the  principal 


48 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


framers  and  expounders  of  the  Grecian  mythology, 
Jupiter,  the  chief  of  the  gods,  and  the  ruler  of  heaven 
and  earth,  was  the  son  of  Saturn,  —  a  god  who  had  been 
compelled  by  a  powerful  and  tyrannical  brother,  named 
Titan,  to  promise  that  he  would  destroy  all  his  male 
children.  This  promise  Saturn  for  some  time  fulfilled, 
by  devouring  his  sons  as  soon  as  they  were  born ;  but 
at  last,  Rhea,  his  wife,  contrived  to  conceal  the  birth 
of  Jupiter,  Neptune,  and  Pluto,  who  thus  escaped  the 
fate  of  their  brethren.  On  discovering  that  Saturn  had 
male  offspring  alive,  in  contravention  of  his  engage- 
ment. Titan  deposed  him  from  his  authority,  and  cast 
him  into  prison.  But  Jupiter,  having  grown  up  to 
manhood,  overcame  Titan  in  turn,  and  restored  Saturn 
to  his  throne.  These  vicissitudes,  it  is  to  be  observed, 
and  others  that  befell  the  early  divinities,  were  the  re- 
sult of  the  decrees  of  Fate ;  a  power  over  which  the 
heathen  gods  are  represented  as  having  no  control. 

Notwithstanding  this  filial  conduct  of  Jupiter,  he 
afterwards  quarrelled  with  his  father,  whom  he  de- 
throned and  chased  into  Italy,  where  Saturn  is  said  to 
have  passed  his  time  in  a  quiet  and  useful  manner, 
occupied  solely  in  teaching  the  rude  inhabitants  to  cul- 
tivate and  improve  the  soil.  He  was  afterwards  known 
—  under  the  name  of  Chronos  —  as  the  god  of  Time, 
and  was  usually  represented  under  the  figure  of  an  old 
man,  holding  in  one  hand  a  scythe,  and  in  the  other  a 
serpent  with  its  tail  in  its  mouth,  in  allusion  to  the  de- 
structive influence  of  time,  and  the  endless  succession 
of  the  seasons.  The  rule  of  Saturn  in  Italy  was  pro- 
ductive of  so  much  happiness,  that  this  period  was 
ever  afterwards  called  the  Golden  Age. 


GRECIAN  MA^THOLOGY. 


49 


After  Saturn  had  been  driven  into  exile,  his  three 
sons  divided  his  dominions  amongst  them.  Jupiter  re- 
served to  himself  the  sovereignty  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  Neptune  obtained  the  empire  of  the  sea,  and 
Pluto  received  as  his  share  the  sceptre  of  the  infernal 
regions.  Jupiter  did  not,  however,  enjoy  unmolested 
his  supreme  dignity  ;  for  the  offspring  of  Titan  —  a 
race  of  terrible  giants  —  set  the  new  deity  at  defiance, 
and,  by  piling  the  mountains  named  Pelion  and  Ossa 
one  upon  the  other,  endeavoured  to  ascend  into 
heaven  to  pluck  him  from  his  throne.  The  gods,  in 
great  alarm,  fled  from  their  divine  abode  on  Mount 
Olympus  into  Egypt,  where  they  concealed  their  true 
character  by  assuming  the  forms  of  various  animals ; 
but  Jupiter,  assisted  by  Hercules,  at  last  suceeded  in 
destroying  the  giants,  and  reasserting  his  sovereign 
sway.  Jupiter  is  always  represented  on  a  throne, 
with  thunderbolts  in  his  right  hand,  and  an  eagle  by 
his  side. 

Jupiter  took  in  marriage  his  sister  Juno,  who  is  de- 
scribed as  a  beautiful,  but  ill-tempered  goddess,  and  is 
usually  depicted  as  seated  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  two 
peacocks.  Neptune,  the  brother  of  Jupiter,  and  god 
of  the  ocean,  is  painted  as  a  half-naked  man,  of  majes- 
tic figure,  with  a  crown  on  his  head,  and  a  trident  or 
three-pronged  fork  in  his  hand,  drawn  in  a  car  over 
the  sea  by  water-horses.  Pluto,  the  remaining  brother 
of  Jupiter,  and  god  of  the  infernal  regions,  was  painted 
by  the  Greeks  as  seated  on  a  throne  with  his  wife  Pros- 
erpina by  his  side,  and  the  three-headed  dog  Cerberus 
before  him. 

Nine  of  the  most  important  of  the  deities  were  con- 
VIII, — 5 


60 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


sidered  as  the  children  of  Jupiter.  Apollo  was  the 
god  of  music,  poetry,  painting,  and  medicine ;  he  is 
represented  as  a  young  man  of  great  elegance  of  per- 
son, with  a  bow  in  his  hand,  and  a  quiver  of  arrows 
on  his  back.  Mars,  the  god  of  war,  is  drawn  as  an 
armed  man,  in  a  car,  with  an  inferior  female  deity, 
named  Bellona,  by  his  side.  Bacchus  was  the  god  of 
wine,  and  was  usually  represented  as  a  young  man, 
with  a  cup  in  one  hand,  and  a  spear  called  a  thyrsus 
in  the  other.  His  name  has  given  rise  to  many  phrases 
in  our  language,  expressive  of  circumstances  connect- 
ed with  drinking.  Mercury  was  the  messenger  of 
Jupiter,  and  the  god  of  oratory,  of  merchandise,  and 
of  thieving.  He  was  represented  as  a  youth  flying 
along  the  air,  with  wings  at  his  cap  and  heels,  and  a 
peculiar  wand,  called  a  caduceus^  in  his  hand.  Minerva, 
the  goddess  of  wisdom,  was  painted  as  a  female  of 
severe  aspect,  with  armor  on  the  head  and  breast,  and 
bearing  a  spear  and  shield,  while  an  owl  sits  by  her 
side.  Venus,  the  goddess  of  beauty  and  love,  was  de- 
picted as  a  handsome  woman,  in  undress.  Diana,  the 
goddess  of  hunting  and  of  chastity,  appeared  as  a 
beautiful  female,  with  bow  and  arrow  in  her  hands, 
buskins  on  her  limbs,  and  a  crescent  on  her  forehead. 
Hebe,  the  goddess  of  youth,  took  the  form  of  a  bloom- 
ing young  girl,  and  was  said  to  bear  the  cup  of  Ju- 
piter. 

Another  of  the  children  of  Jupiter  was  Vulcan,  who, 
being  of  ungainly  form,  and  disagreeable  in  the  eyes 
of  his  father,  was  cruelly  thrust  by  him  out  of  heaven , 
so  that  he  fell  on  the  Isle  of  Lemnos,  and,  breaking  a 
limb,  was  lame  ever  after.    On  earth,  Vulcan  em- 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


51 


ployed  himself  as  an  artificer  in  iron,  and  hence  he 
has  been  assumed  as  the  patron  of  blacksmiths.  Ju- 
piter is  said  to  have  employed  him  in  fabricating  his 
thunderbolts.  The  workshop  of  Vulcan  was  believed 
to  be  underneath  the  burning  mountain  ^tna,  in  Sicily  ; 
and  the  term  Volcano  is  derived  from  that  circum- 
stance. The  gay  goddess  Venus  is  represented  as 
married  to  this  homely  deity,  to  whom  she  occasion- 
ed much  uneasiness  by  the  levity  of  her  conduct. 

Besides  the  other  attributes  and  avocations  of  Apollo, 
he  was  the  deity  of  the  sun,  having  the  task  confided 
to  him  of  guiding  that  luminary  in  its  diurnal  course 
through  the  heavens.  His  sister,  Diana,  had  a  similar 
charge  over  the  moon.  Apollo,  or  Phoebus,  as  he  was 
also  named,  had  a  son  called  Phaeton,  who,  being,  like 
many  other  young  people,  self-confident  and  rash, 
took  advantage  of  the  indulgent  disposition  of  his 
father  to  obtain  from  him  the  charge  of  the  chariot  of 
the  sun  for  one  day.  But  Phaeton  had  not  travelled 
far  on  his  journey  up  the  heavens,  when  his  fiery 
steeds  became  unmanageable,  and,  running  away  with 
the  sun,  descended  so  close  to  the  earth,  that  it  was 
set  on  fire.  Jupiter  perceived  what  had  happened, 
and,  fearing  that  the  whole  universe  would  be  con- 
sumed, struck  Phaeton  dead  with  a  thunderbolt ;  then, 
after  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  he  extinguished  the  dan- 
gerous conflagration,  and  set  the  sun  once  more  on 
its  usual  course. 

None  of  the  heathen  deities  is  more  frequently  re- 
ferred to  than  Cupid,  the  god  of  love.  He  was  the 
son  of  Venus,  and  bore  the  aspect  of  a  beautiful  boy. 
He  had  a  pair  of  wings,  and  was  furnished  with  a  bow 


52 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


and  a  quiver  of  arrows,  which  he  shot  into  the  hearts 
of  those  whom  he  wished  to  inflame  with  tender  pas- 
sions, over  which  he  had  control.  So  great  was  his 
power,  that  he  could  tame  the  most  ferocious  animals, 
and  break  in  pieces  the  thunderbolts  of  Jupiter  himself. 

There  was  a  number  of  divinities  of  minor  import- 
ance. Hymen  was  the  god  of  marriage,  and  was 
represented  with  a  crown  of  flowers  on  his  head,  and 
a  lighted  torch  in  his  hand.  jEoIus  was  the  god  of 
the  winds,  which  he  kept  confined  in  caverns,  except 
at  such  times  as  he  chose  to  let  them  loose  upon  the 
world.  Pan  was  the  god  of  the  country.  He  was 
flat-nosed  and  horned,  and  had  legs,  feet,  and  a  tail 
resembling  those  of  a  goat.  His  favorite  haunt  was 
the  vales  of  Arcadia,  where  he  excited  the  admiration 
of  the  shepherds  around  him  by  the  sweet  sounds  of 
his  rustic  pipe. 

Astrjea  was  the  goddess  of  justice,  and  during  the 
Golden  Age,  when  men  were  virtuous  and  happy,  she 
dwelt,  like  many  other  deities,  on  earth  ;  but,  after  the 
world  became  wicked,  she  bid  it  a  sorrowful  farewell, 
and,  ascending  to  heaven,  was  transformed  into  the 
sign  of  the  zodiac  which  is  named  Virgo,  or  the  Vir- 
gin. Themis  was  the  goddess  of  law,  and,  after  the 
departure  of  Astrsea,  she  had  also  to  sustain,  as  well 
as  she  was  able,  the  character  of  the  goddess  of  jus- 
tice. We  see  in  this,  as  in  some  other  than  mythologi- 
cal fables,  no  small  degree  of  meaning. 

Inexorable  destiny,  which  governs  all  things,  was 
personified  by  three  sisters,  called  the  Fates,  who 
represented  the  Past,  the  Present,  and  the  Future. 
They  were  poetically  described  as  constantly  employ- 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


53 


ed  in  spinning  the  thread  of  human  life.  One  held 
the  distaff,  another  spun,  and  the  third  cut  the  thread 
when  it  had  reached  its  appointed  length.  To  the  de- 
crees of  these  stern  sisters  even  Jupiter  himself  was 
ohliged  to  bend,  and  his  thunders,  which  affrighted  all 
the  other  divinities,  were  heard  by  them  undisturbed. 

The  Furies  were  also  three  in  number,  and  to  them 
belonged  the  task  of  punishing  the  guilty  both  on 
earth  and  in  hell.  Instead  of  hair,  their  heads  were 
covered  with  serpents,  and  their  looks  were  fierce  and 
terrible.  Each  of  the  sister-furies  waved  a  torch  in 
the  one  hand,  while  the  other  wielded  a  scourge.  The 
latter  instruments  inflicted  remorseless  punishment  on 
those  who  had  incurred  the  anger  of  the  gods.  War, 
famine,  and  pestilence  —  the  penalty  of  vice  and 
crime  —  proceeded  from  these  dread  sisters  ;  and  Grief, 
Terror,  and  Madness  were  painted  as  their  inseparable 
followers. 

These  avengers  of  guilt  form  a  striking  contrast  to 
another  sisterly  trio,  to  whom  the  ancients  gave  the 
name  of  the  Graces.  These  were  named  Aglaia, 
Thalia,  and  Euphrosyne,  and  their  aspect  aftd  attri- 
butes corresponded  with  the  common  name  they  bore. 
They  were  the  daughters  of  Bacchus  and  Venus,  and 
were  usually  represented  as  unattired,  and  linked  in 
each  other's  arms. 

The  nine  Muses  were  named  Thalia,  Melpomene, 
Calliope,  Clio,  Erato,  Euterpe,  Polyhymnia,  Terp- 
sichore, and  Urania.  They  were  the  patronesses  of 
literature  and  the  fine  arts,  and  resided  on  Parnassus, 
a  lofty  mountain  in  the  district  of  Phocis.  Thalia  pre- 
sided over  comedy  ;  Melpomene  over  tragedy  ;  Erato 
5* 


54 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


over  amatory  poetry  ;  Polyhymnia  over  eloquence 
and  imitation ;  Calliope  over  heroic  or  epic  poetry  ; 
Clio  over  history ;  Euterpe  over  music ;  Terpsichore 
over  dancing  ;  and  Urania  over  the  study  of  astron- 
omy. 

There  was  a  class  of  demi-gods,  who  filled  imagi- 
nary places  in  every  corner  both  of  earth  and  sea. 
The  shady  groves  and  flowery  vales  were  peopled  by 
Dryads  or  wood-nymphs,  and  Satyrs,  a  species  of  rural 
deities,  who,  like  Pan,  had  the  horns,  legs,  and  feet  of 
goats.  Mountains  and  streams  possessed  their  guar- 
dian gods  and  goddesses,  and  every  fountain  had  its 
Naiad  or  water-nymph.  The  lively  imagination  of 
the  Greeks  made  them  consider  the  thunder  as  the 
voice  of  Jupiter ;  the  soft  breezes  of  summer  were  to 
them  the  movement  of  the  wing  of  jEoIus  ;  the  echo 
of  the  forest  was  the  voice  of  a  goddess ;  and  the  gen- 
tle murmur  of  the  streamlet  sounded  as  the  tones  of  its 
presiding  deity.  In  short,  whatever  sound  or  sight  in 
nature  charmed  their  fancy,  the  Greeks  ascribed  the 
pleasure  to  the  agency  of  unseen,  but  beautiful  and 
immortal,  beings. 

Physical  beauty  was,  nevertheless,  much  more 
prominent  than  moral,  in  the  divinities  shaped  out  by 
the  imagination  of  the  Greeks.  Their  gods  were 
represented  as  mingling  in  the  affairs  of  mortals,  and 
frequently  lending  their  superior  power  and  intel- 
ligence to  the  promotion  of  schemes  of  vice  and  vil- 
lany.  They  were  animated  by  envy,  malice,  and  all 
the  evil  passions  to  which  men  are  subject,  and  tliey 
did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  any  measures,  however  base, 
to  gratify  their  nefarious  purposes.    Even  Jupiter,  the 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


55 


king  of  heaven,  is  described  as  acting  a  very  profli- 
gate part  on  earth. 

Yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  most  of  the  Greeks 
appear  to  have  been  impressed  with  sincere  religious 
feehngs.  The  stories  of  the  gods  had  come  down  to 
them  with  the  authority  of  antiquity,  and  habit  made 
them  bow  to  beings  of  whose  characters  their  reason 
could  not  approve.  It  seems,  impossible,  however,  that 
the  sages,  philosophers,  and  other  persons  of  cultivated 
ntellect,  who  flourished  in  Greece,  could  have  reposed 
faith  in  the  tissue  of  gross  and  extravagant  fables  of 
which  this  mythology  was  composed ;  and,  in  fact,  it 
is  known  that  Socrates,  and  others  of  the  wisest  men 
of  antiquity,  rejected  the  popular  belief,  and,  observing 
the  unity  of  design  which  is  apparent  in  all  the  works 
of  nature,  rightly  conjectured  that  the  whole  universe 
must  have  been  created  by  one  omnipotent  and  om- 
niscient God,  the  sovereign  and  ruler  of  all. 

The  Greeks  believed  in  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments.  They  imagined,  that,  after  death, 
the  souls  of  men  descended  to  the  shores  of  a  dis- 
mal and  pestilential  stream,  called  the  Styx,  where 
Charon,  a  grim-looking  personage,  acted  as  ferryman, 
and  rowed  the  spirits  of  the  dead  across  the  melancholy 
river,  the  boundary  of  the  dominions  of  Pluto.  To 
obtain  a  passage  in  Charon's  boat,  it  was  necessary 
that  the  deceased  should  have  been  buried.  Those 
who  were  drowned  at  sea,  or  who  were  in  any  other 
manner  deprived  of  the  customary  rites  of  sepulture, 
were  compelled  to  wander  about  on  the  banks  of  the 
Styx  for  a  hundred  years,  before  being  permitted  to 
cross  it. 


56 


GRECIAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


After  quitting  the  vessel  of  Charon,  the  trennbling 
shades  advanced  to  the  palace  of  Pluto,  the  gate  of 
which  was  guarded  by  a  monstrous  dog,  named  Cer- 
berus, which  had  three  heads,  and  a  body  covered  with 
snakes  instead  of  hair.  They  then  appeared  before 
Minos,  Rhadamanthus,  and  iEacus,  the  three  judges 
of  the  infernal  regions,  by  whom  the  wicked  were 
condemned  to  torments,  and  the  good  rewarded  with 
heavenly  pleasures. 

Tartarus,  the  place  of  punishment,  was  the  abode 
of  darkness  and  horror.  There  Tantalus,  for  a  vile 
crime  done  in  life,  remained  perpetually  surrounded 
with  water,  which  fled  from  his  lips  whenever  he 
attempted  to  quench  his  burning  thirst,  while  over  his 
head  hung  branches  laden  with  delicious  fruits,  which 
shrunk  from  his  grasp  as  often  as  he  stretched  out  his 
hand  to  pluck  them. 

There,  also,  was  Ixion,  bound  with  serpents  to  the 
rim  of  a  wheel,  which,  constantly  revolving,  allowed  no 
cessation  of  his  agonies.  Another  variety  of  punish- 
ment was  allotted  to  Sisyphus,  who  was  condemned  to 
the  endless  task  of  rolling  a  huge  stone  up  the  side  of 
a  steep  mountain,  which  he  had  no  sooner  accomplish- 
ed than  it  rolled  down  again  to  its  former  place.  On 
one  side  criminals  were  writhing  under  the  merciless 
lash  of  the  avenging  Furies,  and  on  another  were  to 
be  seen  wretches  surrounded  with  unquenchable  flames. 

Elysium,  the  abode  of  the  blessed,  was  a  region  of 
surpassing  loveliness  and  pleasure.  Groves  of  the 
i^ichest  verdure,  and  streams  of  silvery  clearness,  were 
to  be  met  with  on  every  side.  The  air  was  pure, 
serene,  and  temperate ;  the  birds  continually  warbled 


GRECIAN  GAMES. 


57 


in  the  woods  ;  and  a  brighter  light  than  that  of  the  sun 
was  diffused  throughout  that  happy  land.  No  cares 
nor  sorrow  could  disturb  its  inhabitants,  who  spent  their 
time  in  the  enjoyment  of  those  pleasures  they  had 
loved  on  earth,  or  in  admiring  the  wisdom  and  power 
of  the  gods. 


Victors  at  the  Olympic  Games. 

GRECIAN  GAMES. 

Though  we  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  Greece  as 
one  country,  we  have  already  seen  that  it  consisted 
of  several  distinct  nations.  In  the  earlier  periods  of 
their  history,  these  were  hostile  to  each  other,  and  it 
was  long  before  they  united  in  one  great  confederation. 
The  almost  incessant  wars  that  took  place  kept  the 


58 


GRECIAN  GAMES. 


people  from  free  communication  with  each  other,  and 
thus  hindered  their  advance  in  civiHzation.  But, 
fortunately,  a  king  of  Elis,  named  Iphitus,  at  length 
devised  an  institution,  by  which  the  people  of  all  the 
Grecian  states  were  enabled,  notwithstanding  their 
quarrels  and  wars  with  one  another,  to  meet  periodi- 
cally on  friendly  terms,  and  communicate  to  each  other 
such  information  as  might  be  useful  for  the  improve- 
ment and  welfare  of  the  whole. 

This  institution  was  an  Olympic  festival.  From  a 
very  remote  period,  the  Greeks  had  been  accustomed 
to  engage  in  contests  of  strength  and  agility  during 
their  times  of  festivity,  and  also  at  the  funerals  of 
distinguished  personages.  Iphitus  conceived  the  idea 
of  establishing  a  periodical  festival  in  his  own  do- 
minions, for  the  celebration  of  these  ancient  games, 
and  of  religious  rites  in  honor  of  Jupiter  and  Hercu- 
les ;  and,  having  obtained  the  authority  of  the  Delphi- 
an oracle  for  carrying  his  design  into  execution,  he 
instituted  the  festival,  and  appointed  that  it  should  be 
repeated  every  fourth  year,  at  Olympia,  a  town  of 
Elis. 

To  this  festival  he  invited  all  the  people  of  Greece ; 
and,  that  none  might  be  prevented  from  attending  it 
by  the  wars  in  which  any  of  the  states  might  be 
engaged,  the  Delphic  oracle  commanded  that  a  gen- 
eral armistice  should  take  place  for  some  time  before 
and  after  each  celebration.  The  date  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Olympic  games,  884,  B.  C,  was  af- 
terwards assumed  by  the  Greeks  as  the  epoch  from 
which  they  reckoned  the  progress  of  time ;  the  four 
years  intervening  between  each  occurrence  of  the 
festival  being  styled  an  Olympiad. 


GRECIAN  GAMES. 


59 


Three  other  institutions  of  a  similar  nature  were 
afterwards  established ;  namely,  the  Isthmian  games, 
celebrated  near  Corinth ;  the  Pythian,  at  Delphi ;  and 
the  Nemean,  at  Argolis.  These  took  place  on  the  vari- 
ous years  which  intervened  between  the  successive 
festivals  at  Olympia ;  but,  although  they  acquired  con- 
siderable celebrity,  none  of  them  rose  to  the  impor- 
tance and  splendor  of  that  of  Iphitus.  The  games 
which  were  celebrated  at  the  festivals  consisted  of  foot 
and  chariot  races,  wrestling  and  boxing  matches,  and 
other  contests,  requiring  strength  and  agility,  together 
with  competitions  in  music  and  poetry.  The  victors 
in  the  Olympic  games  were  crowned  with  an  olive 
wreath,  an  honor  which  it  was  esteemed  by  the  Greeks 
one  of  the  highest  objects  of  ambition  to  attain. 


Romulus  and  Remus. 


R  O  M  E  . 

About  the  time  when  Lycurgus  was  settling  the 
institutions  of  Sparta,  Italy  was  possessed  by  a  set  of 
tribes,  some  of  which,  from  the  traces  of  their  lan- 
guage and  arts  which  have  been  preserved,  appear  to 
have  been  of  Eastern  origin,  being  probably  colonies 
from  Greece  and  Asia  Minor.  The  Etrurians,  who 
occupied  modern  Tuscany,  were  the  most  refined  of 
these  races.  In  the  country  of  the  Latins,  more  to  the 
south,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  before  Christ, 
a  small  settlement  was  formed  on  a  hill  near  the  Tiber, 
under  the  conduct,  it  is  said,  of  a  youthful  leader 
named  Romulus. 


ROME. 


61 


The  history  of  this  individual  is  embellished  by  the 
ancients  with  a  variety  of  ingenious  fables.  He  is 
represented  as  the  son  of  Mars  and  Ilia.  When  an  in- 
fant, he  and  his  twin  brother,  Remus,  were  thrown  into 
the  Tiber  by  a  usurper  of  the  crown,  but  they  were 
miraculously  saved  by  a  she-wolf,  which  came  forth  and 
fed  them  with  her  milk.  They  were  at  length  found 
by  one  of  the  king's  shepherds,  who  reared  them  as 
his  own  children. 

When  the  two  brothers  had  reached  manhood,  they 
undertook  to  build  a  city,  and  it  was  decided  by  an 
omen  that  Romulus  should  be  its  ruler.  A  line  drawn 
by  the  plough,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Etrurians,  be- 
came the  boundary  of  the  town,  which  at  first  was 
composed  of  only  a  few  huts,  occupied  by  shepherds, 
freebooters,  aud  other  rude  people.  From  such  a  be- 
ginning rose  the  mighty  city,  and  finally  the  empire  of 
Rome,  taking  their  name  from  Romulus,  the  founder. 

This  enterprising  leader  became  king  of  the  little 
state,  and,  as  such,  established  certain  laws  and  regula- 
tions for  the  general  advantage.  The  lands,  which  ex- 
tended several  miles  around  the  city,  were  divided  into 
three  portions,  one  for  the  support  of  government, 
another  for  the  maintenance  of  religion,  and  a  third  for 
the  people  themselves,  each  person  having  about  two 
acres.  A  senate  was  established,  consisting  of  a  hun- 
dred (afterwards  two  hundred)  members,  who  were  styl- 
ed palres  (fathers),  and  whose  descendants,  under  the 
name  of  patricians,  or  the  equestrian  order,  formed  the 
nobility  of  Rome.  The  senate  prepared  all  measures  ;  * 
but  these  were  ultimately  deliberated  on  by  the  plebs^ 
or  bulk  of  the  people,  and  through  the  medium  of  repre- 
VIII. — 6 


62 


ROME. 


sentatives,  as  in  modern  states,  by  a  general  assembly 
beld  in  the  open  air.  At  first,  to  increase  the  numbers 
of  the  people,  all  kinds  of  malefactors,  who  could  get 
no  settled  footing  elsewhere,  were  invited  to  the  new 
city  ;  it  was  then  found  that  the  male  sex  preponderat- 
ed, and  the  deficiency  was  supplied  by  a  stratagem,  of 
a  nature  which  marks  a  very  rude  state  of  society. 

The  Sabines,  a  neighbouring  people,  were  invited  to 
witness  the  games  at  Rome ;  and,  while  these  were 
proceeding,  the  young  men  laid  hands  each  on  one  of 
the  young  Sabine  women,  whom  they  carried  oflT,  and 
compelled  to  become  their  wives.  The  Sabines  were 
enraged  at  this  act ;  but  the  women  themselves,  when 
reconciled  to  their  new  situation,  interposed  to  prevent 
bloodshed,  and  ultimately  the  transaction  had  the  effect 
of  uniting  the  Sabines  with  the  Romans,  and  thus  in- 
creasing the  power  of  the  infant  state. 

Such  is  the  history  usually  given  of  the  origin  of 
Rome.  A  late  German  writer,  M.  Niebuhr,  has  shown 
reason  for  regarding  it  as  in  a  great  measure  fabulous. 
He  considers  Romulus  as  a  being  little  better  than  im- 
aginary, and  the  laws  and  regulations  bearing  his  name 
as  having  sprung  up  in  the  course  of  time,  and  all  of 
them  after  the  period  when  Romulus  is  represented  as 
having  lived. 

The  Roman  people,  from  the  earliest  period  of 
their  history,  bore  a  marked  resemblance,  in  religion, 
manners,  and  general  pursuits,  to  the  Greeks,  from 
whom  it  is  obvious  that  they  drew  their  origin. 
They  believed  in  the  same  imaginary  deities,  such  as 
Jupiter,  Neptune,  Pluto,  Mars,  Venus,  &c.,  besides  a 
great  number,  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  they  add- 


ROME. 


63 


ed  to  this  monstrous  system  of  mythology.  Like  the 
Greeks,  also,  they  dressed  themselves  in  a  simple 
manner,  with  a  loose  mantle,  or  toga^  over  a  kind  of 
kilt,  which  left  the  legs  exposed.  At  the  outset,  their 
dependence  was  almost  entirely  on  agriculture  ;  but 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  peaceful  arts  generally  they 
seem  to  have  possessed  no  taste.  War  and  plunder 
were  their  favorite  pursuits,  in  which  they  far  exceed- 
ed the  Greeks,  and  almost  all  other  nations  of  ancient 
or  modern  times.  Their  language,  founded  on  the 
Greek,  was  that  since  known  as  the  Latin,  a  term 
derived  from  Latium,  the  early  name  of  the  country 
in  which  Rome  was  situated. 

During  the  early  period  of  its  history,  the  Roman 
government  was  monarchical,  but  restricted  by  a  senate 
and  popular  assembly,  and  therefore  favorable  to  social 
advancement.  From  Romulus  is  reckoned  a  series 
of  seven  kings,  the  ablest  of  whom,  Servius  TuUius, 
placed  Rome  at  the  head  of  the  small  states,  forming 
what  has  been  called  the  Latin  confederacy,  and  con- 
siderably improved  the  municipal  institutions  of  the 
kingdom.  The  last  of  the  seven  kings  of  Rome  was 
Tarquinius,  surnamed  the  Proud.  His  son  Sextus 
having  committed  an  atrocious  act  of  violence  on 
Lucretia,  the  wife  of  Collatinus,  she,  unable  to  survive 
the  dishonor,  killed  herself.  By  this  transaction,  the 
disgust  of  the  people  with  their  royal  family,  and  with 
monarchy  in  general,  was  brought  to  a  head ;  and 
under  a  noble  Roman,  named  Brutus,  they  rose  and 
expelled  Tarquinius,  with  all  his  family.  Thus  ended 
the  regal  power  in  Rome,  in  the  year  509,  B.  C. 

The  monarchy  was  succeeded  by  a  republic,  in 


64 


ROME. 


which  the  chief  legislative  authority  rested  with  the 
senate,  and  the  liberties  of  the  people  were  very  little 
improved.  The  executive  was  committed  to  two 
magistrates  of  equal  authority,  named  consuls,  who 
were  chosen  annually.  Brutus,  who  had  distinguish- 
ed himself  in  expelling  the  royal  family,  was  chosen 
one  of  the  two  first  consuls.  During  the  time  he  held 
office,  his  two  sons  joined  in  a  conspiracy  to  restore 
Tarquin;  and  Brutus,  with  a  disregard  of  his  own 
affections  which  was  considered  a  great  virtue  in 
Greece  and  Rome,  when  the  public  interest  was  con- 
cerned, condemned  them  both  to  be  beheaded  in  his 
presence. 

The  early  years  of  the  republic  were  marked  by 
great  struggles  between  the  patrician,  or  noble  order, 
and  the  common  people.  The  vigor  and  persever- 
ance with  which  the  latter  sought  to  emancipate  them- 
selves from  the  authority  of  the  former  composed  a 
striking  picture  in  ancient  history,  and  conveyed  the 
impression  that  there  were  here  elements  of  charac- 
ter superior  to  what  existed  at  the  time  in  any  other 
nation,  except  the  Greeks.  It  would  be  wearisome, 
however,  to  detail  these  various  contentions. 

From  the  beginning,  the  plebeians  showed  a  ten- 
dency to  acquire  the  mastery.  By  the  "  Valerian  law," 
they  acquired  the  right  of  giving  a  final  judgment  on 
any  person  condemned  by  a  magistrate.  Their  im- 
portance in  composing  armies  also  helped  to  give 
them  influence.  By  seizing  an  opportunity  when  the 
patricians  were  in  difficulties  from  foreign  aggression, 
492,  B.  C,  they  obtained  the  right  of  appointing  tri- 
bunes,—  at  first  two  in  number,  afterwards  five,  and 


ROME. 


65 


finally  ten,  —  who  had  the  power  of  suspending  the  de- 
crees of  the  senate  and  the  sentences  of  the  consul, 
and  had  a  general  charge  over  the  interests  of  the 
common  people.  The  power  enjoyed  by  the  plebe- 
ians at  this  time  is  marked  by  their  causing  the  cel- 
ebrated Coriolanus  to  be  sent  into  banishment,  his 
splendid  military  services  being  insufficient  to  atone 
for  his  openly  espousing  the  cause  of  the  patricians, 
and  expressing  contempt  for  the  people.  By  a  cer- 
tain law,  they  finally  obtained  the  right  of  assembling 
in  comitia^  and  of  discussing  public  affairs,  without  the 
decree  of  the  senate,  —  a  measure  equivalent  to  the 
assembling  of  the  British  parliament  without  the  king's 
writ,  —  and  thus  the  government  of  Rome  became 
highly  democratic,  471,  B.  C. 

As  yet  the  Romans  had  had  no  written  law.  The 
kings,  and  after  them  the  consuls,  had  administered 
justice  each  according  to  his  own  sense.  In  the  year 
451,  B.  C,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  tribune  named  Ter- 
entihus,  ten  men  (decemviri)  were  appointed  to  frame 
and  digest  a  code  of  laws  for  the  explanation  and  secu- 
rity of  the  rights  of  all  orders  of  the  state.  The  result 
was  the  formation  of  what  have  been  called  the  Twelve 
Tables  of  the  Roman  law,  to  learn  which  by  heart  was 
a  part  of  liberal  education  in  Ancient  Rome. 

On  the  appointment  of  the  Decemviri,  the  consuls 
were  discontinued.  Each  of  the  ten  men  acted  as 
supreme  magistrate  for  a  day,  the  nine  others  officiat- 
ing as  judges.  They  did  not,  however,  remain  long 
in  authority.  One  of  the  number,  named  Appius  Clau- 
dius, having  formed  a  base  design  against  a  maiden 
named  Virginia,  daughter  of  Virginius,  a  centurion, 
5  6* 


66 


ROME. 


and  affianced  to  Icilius,  caused  her  to  be  claimed  as 
his  slave,  and,  as  decemvir,  gave  judgment  in  his  own 
favor.  When  Virginius  saw  his  daughter  about  to  be 
sacrificed  to  a  profligate  monster,  he  seized  a  knife 
from  a  butcher's  stall  in  the  Forum,  and  stabbed  her 
to  the  heart.  The  people  rose  in  fury  against  Appius, 
who  escaped  for  the  time,  but  at  length  only  avoided 
punishment  by  committing  suicide.  This  event  caused 
the  abolition  of  the  decemvirate,  after  it  had  lasted  only 
three  years.  The  consuls  and  tribunes  were  then 
restored. 

The  violent  struggles  of  the  patricians  and  plebeians 
did  not  prevent  Rome  from  gradually  acquiring  an 
ascendency  among  the  Italian  States.  The  armies  of 
Kome,  unlike  all  others  in  those  early  times,  were 
standing  armies  ;  the  soldiers  had  regular  pay,  and 
made  arms  a  profession.  Their  compact  and  well- 
organized  force,  meeting  in  general  only  ill-disciplined 
militia,  carried  every  thing  before  it.  Veii,  a  state 
which  had  long  defied  and  rivalled  them,  fell  before 
Camillus  (396,  B.  C).  In  385,  B.  C,  they  finally 
reduced  the  Gauls,  a  powerful  branch  of  the  Celtic 
race  inhabiting  the  north  of  Italy.  They  then  fought 
and  subdued  the  Samnites.  Other  states  fell  beneath 
their  powerful  arms,  and  in  the  year  274,  B.  C,  they 
had  acquired  the  complete  mastery  of  all  Italy. 

The  three  wars  with  Carthage,  called  the  Punic 
Wars,  all  terminating  in  favor  of  Rome,  were  the 
great  events  of  the  next  hundred  and  twenty  years. 
It  was  during  the  first  of  them  that  Regulus,  a  noble 
Roman  general,  was  taken  by  the  Carthaginians.  He 
was  permitted  to  go  to  Rome  to  propose  terms  of  peace, 
upon  the  condition,  however,  that  he  should  return,  if 


ROME. 


67 


the  offer  he  bore  should  not  be  accepted.  Regulus 
went,  but  earnestly  opposed  the  treaty,  as  being  dishon- 
orable to  Rome.  It  was  rejected,  and  he  returned  to 
Carthage  in  obedience  to  his  promise,  and  submitted 
to  the  cruel  death  which  he  knew  awaited  him.  The 
first  Punic  War  was  closed  in  the  year  241,  B.  C. 

After  twenty-three  years  of  peace,  Carthage  had 
recruited  her  wasted  resources,  and  Hannibal  then 
commenced  his  splendid  career  against  Rome.  He 
entered  Italy  at  the  north,  traversed  nearly  its  whole 
length,  and,  having  often  defeated  the  Roman  legions, 
he  maintained  himself  in  Italy  for  sixteen  years,  draw- 
ing his  whole  supplies  from  the  country  he  had  invad- 
ed. But  even  Hannibal  was  finally  defeated,  and 
Carthage  was  a  second  time  obliged  to  submit  to  a 
degrading  peace,  202,  B.  C.  The  third  Punic  War 
began  in  149,  B.  C,  and  ended,  three  years  after,  in 
the  complete  destruction  of  the  city  of  Carthage. 

These  and  other  successes  intoxicated  the  Roman 
people.  Gorged  with  the  spoils  of  other  countries,  they 
became  at  once  luxurious,  ambitious,  and  unscrupulous. 
They  made  war  for  plunder,  with  as  little  hesitation  as 
does  a  professed  robber  upon  the  land,  or  a  pirate  upon 
the  high  seas.  As  they  sent  forth  large  armies,  and  to 
a  considerable  distance,  for  the  purposes  of  conquest, 
the  leaders  acquired  great  power.  By  flattering  the 
soldiery  they  learned  to  render  them  obedient  to  their 
will,  and  Csesar  at  last  led  his  forces  against  Rome 
itself. 

It  was  at  this  period,  when  the  commonwealth  was 
about  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  an  absolute  monarch, 
that  the  Romans  had  attained  the  height  of  their  power 


68 


ROME. 


Directing  their  main  energies  to  military  conquest, 
they  had  enjoyed  some  centuries  of  glory,  with  every 
kind  of  plunder  which  the  conquered  countries  could 
furnish.  Every  district  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa, 
lying  within  reach  of  the  Roman  legions,  had  become 
tributary  to  Rome.  At  this  period,  the  nation  reck- 
oned about  7,000,000  of  citizens,  with  twice  as  many 
provincials,  besides  as  many  slaves.  From  being  an 
obscure  town,  Rome  had  become  a  wide-spread  city, 
and  was  adorned  with  majestic  temples,  public  edifices, 
and  palaces.  Other  towns  in  Italy  also  rose  into  im- 
portance, and  became  the  residence  of  distinguished 
Roman  citizens. 


Amphitheatre  at  Rome. 

The  public  monuments  of  this  remarkable  people 
were  placed,  not  only  in  the  capital,  but  all  over  the 
provinces ;  and  some  of  them  are  to  this  day  reck- 
oned among  the  greatest  wonders  of  art.    But  the  stu- 


ROME. 


69 


pendous  character  of  their  undertakings  was  chiefly- 
seen  in  their  roads.  All  the  cities  of  the  empire  were 
connected  with  each  other,  and  with  the  capital,  by 
public  highways,  which,  issuing  in  various  directions 
from  the  Forum  —  or  great  central  place  of  public 
assembly  —  of  Rome,  traversed  Italy,  pervaded  the 
provinces,  and  were  terminated  only  by  the  frontiers 
of  the  empire.  On  the  northwest,  the  boundary  of  this 
extensive  empire  was  the  wall  of  Antoninus,  built  be- 
twixt the  Friths  of  Clyde  and  Forth,  in  Scotland,  and 
on  the  southeast  it  was  the  ancient  city  of  Jerusalem. 
If  the  distance  between  the  two  points  be  carefully 
iTaced,  it  will  be  found  that  the  great  chain  of  commu- 
nication was  drawn  out  to  the  length  of  3,740  English 
miles. 

The  public  roads  were  accurately  divided  by  mile- 
stones, and  ran  in  a  direct  line  from  one  city  to  an- 
other, with  very  little  respect  for  the  obstacles-  either 
of  nature  or  private  property.  Mountains  were  per- 
forated, and  bold  arches  thrown  over  the  broadest  and 
most  rapid  streams.  The  middle  part  of  the  road  was 
raised  into  a  terrace,  which  commanded  the  adjacent 
country,  consisted  of  several  strata  of  sand,  gravel, 
and  cement,  and  was  paved  with  large  stones,  or,  in 
some  places  near  the  capital,  with  granite.  Such  was 
the  solid  construction  of  the  Roman  highways,  whose 
firmness  has  not  entirely  yielded  to  the  effort  of  fifteen 
centuries.  They  united  the  subjects  of  the  most  dis- 
tant provinces  by  an  easy  and  familiar  intercourse  ; 
but  their  primary  object  had  been  to  facilitate  the 
marches  of  the  legions  ;  nor  was  any  country  consid- 
ered as  completely  subdued,  till  it  had  been  rendered, 


70 


ROME. 


in  all  its  parts,  pervious  to  the  arms  of  the  conqueror. 
The  advantage  of  receiving  the  earliest  intelligence, 
and  of  conveying  their  orders  with  celerity,  induced 
the  emperors  to  establish  regular  posts  throughout  their 
extensive  dominions.  Post-houses  were  everywhere 
erected  at  distances  of  only  five  or  six  miles ;  each 
of  them  was  constantly  provided  with  forty  horses, 
and,  by  the  help  of  these  relays,  it  was  easy  to  travel 
a  hundred  miles  in  a  day  along  the  Roman  roads. 

By  these  means  the  Romans  maintained  their  ascen- 
dency in  every  country,  and  diffused  through  the 
whole  empire  the  improvements  of  social  life.  There 
was  thus  a  nobleness  and  grandeur  in  various  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  Roman  sway,  which,  by  a 
moderate,  firm,  and  enlightened  system  of  govern- 
ment, might  have  ultimately  proved  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance in  the  social  advancement  of  mankind.  It 
was  most  unfortunate,  however,  both  for  this  sacred 
cause  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  Roman  people  them- 
selves, that  the  plan  of  enriching  the  commonwealth,  at 
the  seat  of  power,  consisted  almost  exclusively  in  rob- 
bing foreign  territories,  —  a  plan  which  it  is  impossible 
should  ever  permanently  exist  in  any  country,  whatever 
be  its  power.  Besides,  with  all  the  encouragement 
given  to  the  fine  arts,  such  as  architecture,  sculpture, 
and  the  production  of  luxuries,  there  was  no  substan- 
tial industry  or  commerce,  and  no  means  were  taken 
to  enlighten  and  refine  the  community,  by  science, 
literature,  or  morals.  The  whole  fabric  of  Roman 
greatness,  in  fact,  rested  on  no  sure  foundation ;  and  its 
gradual  decline  and  fall,  after  the  extinction  of  the 
republic,  cannot  excite  the  smallest  degree  of  surprise. 


ROME. 


71 


The  successes  of  Caesar  placed  him  at  the  head  of 
the  Roman  world.  His  only  remaining  opponent  was 
Cato,  who  has  been  described  as  one  of  the  most 
faultless  characters  in  Roman  history.  This  eminent 
patriot  was,  however,  unable,  by  force  of  arms,  to 
restore  the  liberties  of  the  people,  or  to  arrest  Csesar 
in  his  victorious  and  ambitious  career.  Being  at  last 
deserted  by  his  friends,  and  dreading  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemy,  after  pondering  awhile  on  the 
nature  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  he  stabbed  him- 
self with  his  own  sword,  —  an  act  which  Roman 
morality  held  as  perfectly  justifiable,  and  which  was 
committed  by  many  of  the  first  characters  in  the  state, 
when  they  happened  to  be  deserted  by  fortune.  After 
the  death  of  Cato,  Csesar  was  without  a  rival.  Re- 
turning to  Rome  in  triumph,  he  established  his  author- 
ity as  dictator,  and  shortly  afterwards  received  the  title 
of  Imperator,  or  Emperor,  with  full  powers  of  sove- 
reignty. 

This  usurpation  of  power  united  the  friends  of  the 
republic,  and  sixty  senators  entered  into  a  conspiracy 
against  him.  Though  aware  of  his  danger,  Caesar, 
being  of  a  bold  nature,  went  to  the  senate  house, 
where  he  was  assailed  by  the  conspirators.  He  de- 
fended himself  with  the  utmost  bravery,  until  he  saw 
Brutus,  whom  he  esteemed  as  a  friend,  among  his 
assailants.  The  latter  came  up  and  struck  him  in  the 
thigh  with  a  dagger.  Caesar  now  exclaimed,  in  bitter- 
ness of  soul,  "  And  you  too,  Brutus  !  "  and,  no  longer 
attempting  resistance,  he  folded  his  robe  over  his  face, 
and  fell  dead  at  the  base  of  Pompey's  statue. 

Octavius  Caesar,  grand  nephew  and  adopted  son  of 


72 


ROME. 


Julius  Csesar,  after  a  bloody  struggle  obtained  the 
throne.  He  now  assumed  the  title  of  Augustus,  and, 
instead  of  attempting  to  extend  his  dominions,  he  sought 
rather  to  consolidate  his  empire.  He  flattered  the  Ro- 
man people  with  a  show  of  republican  forms,  while  he 
made  them  apparently  happy  in  the  tranquillity  of  a 
concealed  despotism.  He  encouraged  literature,  and 
during  his  reign,  which  is  called  by  way  of  distinction 
the  Augustan  Age,  some  of  the  finest  productions  of 
Roman  genius,  such  as  the  works  of  Virgil  and  Hor- 
ace, were  given  to  the  world.  It  was  also  in  the 
twenty-fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Augustus  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  born  in  the  Roman  province  of  Judea. 

Tiberius  succeeded  Augustus,  and  Caligula  followed. 
This  profligate  emperor  carried  luxury  to  its  height. 
He  contrived  baths  in  which  the  richest  oils  and  most 
precious  perfumes  were  used  with  profusion ;  he 
sought  out  expensive  and  rare  dishes,  and  had  jewels 
dissolved  in  his  sauces.  He  built  a  stable  of  marble 
for  his  horse,  with  a  manger  of  ivory.  This  wretch 
was  succeeded  by  Claudius ;  and  Nero,  the  greatest 
monster  of  antiquity,  followed. 

A  long  line  of  emperors  are  now  presented  in  suc- 
cession, most  of  whom  must  be  ranked  among  the  bas- 
est of  mankind.  In  the  year  306,  A.  D.,  Constantine 
came  to  the  throne,  and  shed  around  it  a  transient  ray 
of  glory.  He  adopted  Christianity  as  the  religion  of 
the  state,  and  thus  gave  a  final  blow  to  the  pagan  my- 
thology, which  till  now  had  prevailed  throughout  the 
empire.  He  transferred  the  seat  of  government  from 
Rome  to  Byzantium,  now  Constantinople  ;  and  in  the 
year  395,  A.  D.,  the  empire  was  permanently  divided 


ROME. 


73 


into  the  Eastern  and  Western  Roman  Empire.  Con- 
stantinople was  the  capital  of  the  former,  and  Rome 
that  of  the  latter. 

A  careful  survey  of  the  history  of  nations,  as  well 
as  of  individuals,  will  justify  the  conclusion,  that  suc- 
cess obtained  by  injustice  and  violence  is  usually 
compensated  by  an  equal  degree  of  misery.  There  is 
a  pendulum  in  the  moral  as  well  as  physical  world, 
ever  tending  to  an  equalization  of  justice.  Rome  had 
flourished  by  despoiling  the  nations,  and  now  she  must 
herself  be  despoiled.  She  had  shed  rivers  of  blood  to 
satiate  her  thirst  for  plunder  and  dominion,  and,  though 
ages  had  passed,  that  blood  still  called  from  the  ground 
for  retribution.  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  history  of 
the  fall  of  Rome,  and  not  feel  that  there  was  then  an 
overruling  tribunal,  executing  a  heavy  sentence  of  con- 
demnation. The  fearful  agents  in  this  work  seemed 
themselves  to  feel  that  they  were  but  the  executors  of 
a  Divine  judgment.  There  is  something  appalling  in 
the  ideas  that  possessed  the  minds  of  those  formida- 
ble men,  destined  to  perform  the  work  of  vengeance. 
Alaric  assumed  the  title  of  the  "  Scourge  of  God," 
and  Genseric  gave  his  sail  to  the  breeze,  saying  to  the 
pilot,  "  God  will  direct  our  course  !  " 

For  a  considerable  period,  the  Roman  dominions 
were  pressed,  on  nearly  all  sides,  by  ferocious  tribes 
of  barbarians.  These  were  at  first  unknown  to  the 
Romans  ;  but  about  the  era  of  Constantino  they  had 
become  formidable,  and  arose  in  such  numbers  that 
the  earth  seemed  to  have  produced  a  new  race  of  man- 
kind to  complete  the  empire's  destruction.  Against 
such  an  enemy  no  courage  could  avail,  no  abilities  be 


74 


ROME. 


successful ;  a  victory  only  cut  off  numoers  without  a 
habitation  and  a  name,  soon  to  be  succeeded  by  others 
equally  desperate  and  obscure.  The  emperors  who 
had  to  contend  with  this  people  were  most  of  them 
possessed  neither  of  courage  nor  abilities.  Constan- 
tius,  Julian,  Jovian,  and  Valentinian  successively  en- 
deavoured to  arrest  the  tide  of  barbarism  which  set  in 
upon  their  dominions ;  but  they  wanted  both  the  per- 
sonal energy  and  the  stern  soldiery  of  the  early  com- 
monwealth to  accomplish  this  desirable  object.  In  the 
vain  attempt  to  stop  an  immense  inundation  of  Huns, 
Alani,  and  Goths,  from  the  extensive  deserts  of  Tar- 
tary  and  Russia,  the  Roman  armies  were  greatly  weak- 
ened, so  that  the  emperors,  finding  it  difficult  to 
raise  levies  in  the  provinces,  were  obliged  to  hire  one 
body  of  barbarians  to  oppose  another.  This  expedient 
had  its  use,  in  circumstances  of  immediate  danger  ;  but 
when  these  were  past,  the  Romans  found  it  as  difficult 
to  rid  themselves  of  their  new  allies  as  of  their  former 
enemies.  Thus  the  empire  was  not  ruined  by  any 
particular  invasion,  but  sunk  gradually  under  the  weight 
of  numerous  attacks  made  upon  it  on  every  side.  When 
the  barbarians  had  wasted  one  province,  those  who 
succeeded  the  first  spoilers  proceeded  on  to  another. 
Their  devastations  were  at  first  limited  to  Thrace, 
Mysia,  and  Pannonia ;  but,  when  these  countries  were 
ruined,  they  destroyed  Macedonia,  Thessaly,  and 
Greece,  and  thence  they  proceeded  to  Noricum.  The 
empire  was  in  this  manner  continually  shrinking,  and 
northern  Italy  at  last  became  the  frontier  of  the  Roman 
dominion. 

The  valor  and  conduct  of  Theodosius  in  some  meas- 


ROME. 


75 


ure  retarded  the  progress  of  destruction  ;  but,  upon  his 
death,  the  enemy  became  irresistible.  A  large  body  of 
Goths  had  been  called  in  to  assist  the  regular  forces, 
under  Alaric,  their  king ;  but  what  was  brought  in  to 
stop  the  universal  decline  proved  the  last  mortal  stab  to 
the  empire.  This  Gothic  prince,  from  an  ally,  became 
a  dangerous  foe  ;  and  finally,  marching  to  Eome,  made 
himself  master  of  the  city,  which  he  abandoned  to  be 
pillaged  by  his  soldiers,  A.  D.  410. 

After  this  disastrous  event,  Rome  was  plundered 
several  times,  and  Italy  was  overrun  by  barbarous  in- 
vaders, under  various  denominations,  from  the  remotest 
skirts  of  Europe.  The  inhabitants  of  Rome,  who  had 
sunk  into  the  grossest  vices,  through  the  overpowering 
influence  of  wealth  and  prosperity,  were  quite  unable  to 
make  any  defence.  So  debased  had  they  become,  or 
so  ill  regulated  was  the  balance  of  wealth,  that  for 
many  years  the  whole  of  the  lower  classes  had  been 
fed  daily  by  the  emperors  from  the  public  granaries. 
The  power  of  the  state  was  now  entirely  broken ;  the 
provinces  were  voluntarily  abandoned,  or  they  rebelled, 
or  were  seized  by  the  nearest  barbarous  powers.  At 
length  the  title  of  Emperor  of  the  West,  which,  on  one 
occasion,  was  put  up  at  public  auction  by  the  licentious 
soldiery,  expired ;  and,  to  finish  the  melancholy  ac- 
count, one  of  the  princes  of  the  barbarians  assumed 
the  title  of  King  of  Italy.  Such  was  the  end  of  this 
great  empire,  that  had  conquered  mankind  by  its 
arms,  and  instructed  the  world  by  its  wisdom ;  that 
had  risen  by  temperance,  and  that  fell  by  luxury  ;  that 
had  been  established  by  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  thai 
sunk  into  ruin  when  the  empire  was  become  so  exten- 


76 


ROME. 


sive  that  the  title  of  "  Roman  citizen "  was  but  an 
empty  name.  Its  final  dissolution  took  place  in  the 
480th  year  of  the  Christian  era,  or  1232  years  from 
the  date  of  the  foundation  of  Rome. 

Such  was  the  fall  of  the  Western  Roman  Empire. 
For  ages  it  continued  in  darkness ;  but,  in  process  of 
time,  a  new  power —  that  of  the  Pope  — arose  in  the 
ancient  seat  of  the  emperors,  which  at  last  assumed  a 
dominion  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  Csesars.  This 
was  checked,  as  we  have  related ;  but  the  spiritual  sway 
of  the  Holy  See  is  still  exerted  with  powerful  effect 
over  the  larger  portion  of  (vlinstendom. 


Battle  of  Navarino, 


The  Eastern  or  Greek  Em.pire  escaped  the  destruc- 
tive rage  of  the  northern  barbarians,  and  during  the 
Gothic  ages  Constantinople  was  a  great  and  beautiful 


ROME. 


77 


city,  and  the  only  place  m  Europe  v/here  there  were 
any  remains  of  the  ancient  elegance  of  arts  or  man- 
ners. It  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  crusaders,  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  thus  became  renowned  for  its 
splendor.  It  gradually  lost  its  ascendency,  and  in  the 
year  1453  the  capital  as  well  as  the  empire  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Turks,  who  still  retain  it. 

These  grasping  unbelievers  seized  upon  Greece, 
which  they  ruled  with  a  rod  of  iron  till  the  year  1821, 
when  the  descendants  of  Leonidas  and  Lycurgus 
drew  the  sword  in  the  cause  of  liberty.  After  a 
bloody  struggle,  which  was  terminated  in  1827  by  the 
battle  of  Navarino,  they  achieved  their  independence. 


7* 


Landing  of  Julius  CcBsar  in  England. 


SKETCHES 

FROM  THE 

HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN 


JULIUS  C^SAR  IN  ENGLAND. 

All  histories  of  England  commence  with  the  inva- 
sion of  Julius  Csesar,  the  earliest  event  in  that  quarter 
of  which  we  have  any  authentic  account.  The  Island 
of  Britain  was  an  unknown  region  to  the  Romans,  and 
nearly  so  to  the  rest  of  mankind,  at  the  period  when 
Caesar's  conquests  had  reduced  the  greater  part  of 
Gaul  to  the  Roman  government.  Britain,  lying  within 
sight  of  the  northern  shores  of  Gaul,  attracted  his 
notice,  and  he  began  to  meditate  schemes  of  conquest 
in  that  island.  He  is  said  to  have  been  prompted 
to  this  design  by  a  view  of  the  British  pearls,  which 
excited  his  admiration  and  cupidity  by  their  great  size 
and  beauty.  Incited  doubtless  by  the  double  stimulant 
of  ambition  and  avarice,  he  determined  to  invade  this 
unknown  island.  The  Romans  considered  all  strangers 
as  enemies ;  no  moral  scruples  or  principles  of  inter- 
national law  interposed  to  hinder  them  from  turning 
their  arms  against  any  of  their  neighbours. 


80 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


To  acquire  all  possible  preliminary  knowledge  of 
the  country  he  was  about  to  invade,  Csesar  convened, 
from  different  parts  of  Gaul,  a  great  number  of  mer- 
chants and  adventurers  who  had  visited  Britain  for  trade 
and  other  purposes.  These  he  questioned  as  to  the 
extent  of  the  island,  its  population  and  wealth,  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants,  their  method 
of  fighting,  the  harbours  of  the  island  fit  to  receive  large 
ships,  and  other  matters.  These  men,  however,  prob- 
ably disliking  the  projected  enterprise,  did  not  furnish 
him  with  satisfactory  information.  He  therefore  de- 
spatched one  of  his  officers  in  a  galley  to  spy  out  the 
condition  of  the  coast,  and  in  the  mean  time  marched 
with  a  strong  army  into  the  territory  of  the  Morini, 
about  Calais  and  Boulogne,  and  collected  a  numerous 
fleet  in  the  harbours  of  that  neighbourhood.  The 
news  of  the  intended  invasion  soon  spread  through  the 
southern  parts  of  Britain,  and  some  of  the  states  sent 
over  ambassadors  to  Csesar,  offering  to  submit  to  the 
government  of  Rome,  and  give  hostages  for  their  fideli- 
ty. He  gave  them  an  amicable  reception,  and  sent 
them  back  with  a  prince  of  the  Gauls,  whom  he  in- 
structed to  obtain  all  possible  information  of  the  state 
of  the  Britons,  and  to  exhort  them  to  enter  into  alliance 
with  the  Romans,  which  was  only  a  soft  and  inoffensive 
term  for  submission. 

Volusenus,  the  officer  first  despatched  by  Csesar, 
having  returned  from  examining  the  British  coast,  the 
Roman  army  embarked  at  Calais  and  the  neighbouring 
ports  in  nmety-eight  vessels,  set  sail,  and  at  one  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  August,  55  years  before 
the  Christian  era,  the  principal  part  of  the  fleet  arrived 


HISTORY   OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


81 


at  Dover  Cliff.  It  was  now  discovered  that  the  whole 
country  was  hostile.  The  states  which  had  offered 
submission,  finding  that  this  had  not  averted  the  inva- 
sion, determined  to  stand  upon  their  defence.  They 
imprisoned  Comius,  the  Gallic  prince  who  had  accom- 
panied the  ambassadors  on  their  return,  raised  a  nu- 
merous army,  and  marched  to  that  part  of  the  coast 
where  they  judged  the  invaders  would  attempt  to  land. 
Csesar,  on  approaching  the  white  shores,  which  gave 
this  island  its  ancient  name  of  Albion^  saw  the  lofty 
cliffs  covered  with  armed  men.  It  was  impossible  to 
land,  in  the  face  of  an  army,  in  this  spot ;  and,  after 
lying  by  till  three  in  the  afternoon,  the  fleet  got  imder 
sail  again,  and  stood  along  the  coast.  Eight  miles 
further  eastward,  they  reached  a  plain,  open  shore, 
where  "Csesar  determined  to  land,  although  the  Britons 
had  followed  him  along  the  coast,  and  stood  ready  to 
oppose  the  attempt. 

When  the  Roman  soldiers  found  themselves  nearly 
up  to  the  neck  in  the  water,  encumbered  by  the  weight 
of  their  armor,  and  saw  the  beach  covered  with  troops 
of  fierce  barbarians,  who  rushed  to  assail  them  with 
the  greatest  fury  and  resolution,  they  did  not  display 
that  confidence  and  intrepidity  which  usually  marked 
their  conduct  on  meeting  with  the  enemy.  For  some 
time  the  conflict  was  maintained  with  a  dubious  pros- 
pect as  to  the  result.  Csesar,  observing  the  critical 
situation  of  his  men,  ordered  several  galleys,  which 
drew  less  water  than  the  transport  ships,  to  approach 
the  shore,  and  attack  the  enemy  in  flank,  with  a  gen- 
eral discharge  of  their  engines,  slings,  and  arrows. 
The  Britons,  struck  with  astonishment  at  the  unusual 
6 


82 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


shape  and  motion  of  the  galleys,  and  the  playing  of 
the  engines,  first  halted,  and  then  began  to  give  ground. 
Still  many  of  the  Roman  soldiers  hesitated  to  leave 
their  ships  and  encounter  at  once  the  waves  and  the 
enemy ;  at  length  the  standard-bearer  of  the  tenth 
legion,  having  first  invoked  the  gods,  sprang  into  the 
sea,  and,  advancing  with  the  eagle  towards  the  enemy, 
cried  aloud,  "  Follow  me,  fellow-soldiers,  unless  you 
would  betray  the  Roman  eagle  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  ;  —  for  my  part,  I  am  determined  to  discharge 
my  duty  to  Caesar  and  the  Commonwealth."  All  who 
liked  this  bold  action,  and  heard  this  animating  speech, 
were  fired  with  courage  and  emulation,  plunged  into 
the  sea,  and  rushed  toward  the  shore.  The  battle  now 
rnged  more  fiercely  than  ever  at  the  water's  edge  ;  but 
Crusar  displayed  so  much  activity  and  judgment  in  re- 
inforcing his  men  at  the  points  where  they  were  most 
hardly  pressed,  that  at  length  the  Roman  discipline  and 
skill  prevailed  over  the  wild  impetuosity  of  the  bar- 
barians, and  the  whole  army,  after  repulsing  their  op- 
ponents, effected  a  safe  landing.  The  spot  where  this 
engagement  took  place  is  supposed  to  be  at  the  mod- 
ern town  of  Deal. 

The  Britons,  in  discouragement,  renewed  their  sub- 
mission to  Csesar,  and  apologized  by  their  ambassa- 
dors for  the  violence  done  to  Comius,  by  laying  the 
blame  entirely  on  the  unruly  multitude.  Ceesar  again 
accepted  their  offers,  and  took  hostages  for  the  fidelity 
of  the  suppliants.  Their  submission,  however,  lasted 
no  longer  than  while  the  Romans  were  able  to  keep 
them  in  terror  by  the  presence  of  their  army.  The 
first  prospect  of  any  threatened  disaster  to  the  invad- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


83 


ers  was  the  signal  for  a  new  defection.  On  the  very 
day  when  a  peace  was  agreed  upon,  eighteen  trans- 
ports of  Roman  cavalry  set  sail  with  a  fair  wind  from 
Gaul.  As  they  approached  the  British  shore,  and 
began  to  descry  the  Roman  camp,  a  sudden  storm 
arose,  dispersed  the  ships,  and  forced  them  back  into 
different  ports  on  the  continent.  This  disaster  was 
accompanied  by  another.  On  the  night  after  the  storm, 
the  moon  was  at  the  full,  and  the  unexpected  rise  of 
the  tide  surprised  and  embarrassed  the  Romans,  fa- 
miliar mostly  with  no  other  shores  than  those  of  the 
Mediterranean,  where  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  sea  are 
hardly  perceptible.  The  galleys,  which  were  drawn 
up  on  the  beach,  were  overflowed,  and  the  ships  at 
anchor  were  either  dashed  to  pieces,  or  greatly  dam- 
aged. By  this  sudden  and  unforeseen  mishap,  the  Ro- 
mans lost  their  provisions,  and  saw  themselves  without 
transports  to  enable  them  to  escape  from  the  island,  if 
threatened  with  famine  or  a  general  rising  of  the 
Britons.  The  whole  army  was  at  once  thrown  into 
consternation. 

A  great  number  of  the  British  chiefs  were  in  the 
camp,  and  saw,  at  once,  the  whole  extent  of  these  disas- 
ters. The  Romans  were  now  without  food,  cavalry,  or 
ships,  and  might,  apparently,  be  cut  off  at  a  single  blow, 
or  starved  into  submission.  The  chiefs  held  secret 
consultations,  and  determined  upon  a  revolt.  They 
withdrew,  one  after  another,  under  various  pretences, 
from  the  camp,  repaired  to  their  respective  states,  col- 
lected their  followers,  and  animated  them  to  a  renewal 
of  the  war.  A  few  days  afterward,  a  great  cloud  of 
dust  was  discovered  from  the  Roman  camp  in  the  di- 


84 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


rection  in  which  the  seventh  legion  had  been  sent  out 
to  forage.  Caesar,  suspecting  what  had  happened,  im- 
mediately placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  two  cohorts, 
which  were  upon  guard,  and  flew  toward  the  place, 
leaving  orders  for  other  bodies  of  his  troops  to  follow. 
He  found  the  foraging  party  engaged  in  a  furious  con- 
flict with  a  numerous  body  of  Britons,  who,  on  horse- 
back and  in  war-chariots,  had  suddenly  rushed  out  of 
the  woods  and  attacked  them.  The  timely  arrival  of 
Caesar  saved  the  party  from  the  imminent  danger 
into  which  they  were  thrown  by  so  violent  and  un- 
expected an  assault.  The  Britons  were  held  in  check, 
and  the  Romans  retreated  slowly,  but  in  safety,  to  their 
camp. 

Violent  storms  of  rain  kept  the  two  parties  inactive 
for  several  days,  during  which  the  force  of  the  Britons 
was  prodigiously  strengthened  by  constant  arrivals  of 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  neighbourhood.  On  the  first 
favorable  opportunity,  they  approached  the  Roman 
camp,  and  attempted  to  carry  it  by  storm,  but  were 
defeated  with  an  immense  loss.  Once  more  the  Brit- 
ons offered  to  yield,  and  once  more  Caesar  accepted 
their  submission.  The  number  of  hostages  was  dou- 
bled, and  this  was  all  that  was  required  of  them. 
Caesar  repaired  his  shattered  fleet,  and,  after  having 
been  three  weeks  in  Britain,  abandoned  the  country, 
with  his  army,  and  returned  to  Gaul. 

Such  is  Julius  Caesar's  own  account  of  his  first  in- 
vasion of  Britain,  which  has  been  transmitted  to  us  in 
the  Commentaries  written  by  him  during  his  cam- 
paigns. It  is  represented  as  a  very  glorious  and  suc- 
cessful expedition.  But  we  are  reminded  of  the  lines 
of  Pope  : 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


85 


"  Ask  why  from  Britain  Ceesar  would  retreat, 
Caesar  himself  might  whisper,  he  was  beat." 

Had  the  Britons  told  their  own  story,  we  might  have 
a  much  clearer  notion  of  the  necessities  that  caused 
the  precipitate  retreat  of  the  Romans,  who,  after  spend- 
ing three  weeks  in  the  island,  with  great  expense  and 
loss,  abandoned  it  without  leaving  a  fortress  or  a  man 
of  their  own,  as  an  evidence  of  its  subjugation. 

Notwithstanding  this,  C^sar  gave  so  flattering  an 
account  of  his  exploits  in  Britain  to  the  senate  at  Rome, 
that  a  solemn  thanksgiving  of  twenty  days  was  decreed 
in  honor  of  him.  Yet  he  was  not  backward  in  perceiving 
that  his  fame  as  the  conqueror  of  the  Britons  could  not 
be  long  kept  up  without  more  substantial  proofs.  A  new 
invasion  was  resolved  upon,  and  a  fleet  of  ships  con- 
structed, broader,  shallower,  and  better  adapted  to  the 
conveyance  and  landing  of  troops  than  those  used  in 
the  former  expedition.  In  the  following  spring,  when 
Csesar  returned  from  Italy  to  Gaul,  he  found  six  hundred 
of  these  transports  and  twenty-eight  galleys  ready  for 
sea.  Embarking  in  this  fleet,  he  landed  his  army  in 
Britain,  at  the  same  spot  as  before.  The  natives,  on 
beholding  the  approach  of  so  large  a  number  of  ships, 
were  struck  with  consternation,  and,  instead  of  opposing 
the  landing  of  the  Romans,  as  they  at  first  designed, 
withdrew  into  the  interior. 

Csesar  immediately  marched  in  pursuit  of  them. 
But  at  the  river  Stour,  while  engaged  in  a  skirmish  with 
a  body  of  the  enemy,  he  received  intelligence  that 
another  storm  had  shattered  his  fleet.  He  returned  in 
haste,  and  found  that  forty  of  his  vessels  had  foundered, 
VIII. — 8 


86 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


and  that  hardly  any  of  the  remainder  were  fit  for  service. 
Orders  were  immediately  despatched  to  Gaul  for  the 
building  of  another  fleet ;  and  Csesar,  being  now  con- 
vinced that  there  was  no  safety  for  his  naval  force  on 
the  tempestuous  coast  of  Britain,  undertook  the  pro- 
digious task  of  drawing  all  his  ships  ashore,  and  en- 
closing them  within  the  fortifications  of  his  camp. 
The  vigorous  and  incessant  toil  of  the  whole  army 
accomplished  this  almost  incredible  labor  in  the  short 
space  of  ten  days.  Having  thus  secured  the  fleet, 
Csesar  again  marched  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  They 
had  chosen  for  their  general-in-chief,  Cassibelan,  prince 
of  the  Cassi,  a  man  of  great  courage  and  mili- 
tary experience.  Several  actions  were  fought,  in  which 
the  Britons  displayed  uncommon  resolution  and  skill, 
and  obliged  the  Romans  to  observe  the  most  cautious 
prudence  in  their  marches.  Csesar,  on  advancing  to 
the  Thames,  found  the  enemy  drawn  up  in  great  force 
behind  a  palisade  of  sharp  stakes,  on  the  opposite 
bank.  Not  appalled  by  this  formidable  show  of  re- 
sistance, he  ordered  his  men  immediately  to  advance 
and  ford  the  river.  The  soldiers  plunged  into  the 
stream,  which  was  so  deep  that  only  their  heads  ap- 
peared above  water,  and  rushed  upon  their  antagonists, 
who,  astonished  at  the  boldness  of  the  attack,  made 
only  a  feeble  resistance,  and  then  fled.  The  spot 
where  this  occurred  is  now  known  by  the  name  of 
Coway  Stakes. 

The  Britons  now  changed  their  mode  of  warfare, 
and  contented  themselves  with  harassing  the  invaders 
by  issuing  in  small  parties  from  the  woods,  and  attack- 
ing them  when  off  their  guard.   The  want  of  a  cordial 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


87 


and  systematic  union  among  the  different  tribes  em- 
barrassed all  their  efforts  for  the  common  defence,  and 
at  length  Csesar  made  himself  master  of  the  capital 
of  Cassibelan,  a  fortified  town  near  the  present  site  of 
St.  Albans.  Further  resistance  was  now  useless,  and 
that  prince  made  peace  with  the  Romans,  and  con- 
sented to  pay  a  yearly  tribute  in  token  of  submission. 
After  this  general  pacification,  Csesar  judged  it  useless 
to  maintain  a  military  force  any  longer  in  the  island. 
The  army  was  therefore  withdrawn  from  Britain  in 
September,  and  the  Romans  claimed  little  more  than 
the  honor  of  the  conquest.  They  retained  possession 
of  no  part  of  the  territory,  and,  as  the  nature  and 
amount  of  the  tribute  are  not  specified,  we  may  judge 
it  to  have  been  inconsiderable.  For  nearly  a  century 
afterwards,  hardly  any  thing  is  known  of  the  affairs  of 
Britain. 

At  the  time  of  Csesar's  invasion,  the  whole  island 
of  Great  Britain  probably  contained  no  more  inhabi- 
tants than  are  to  be  found  at  this  day  in  London.  The 
country  was  divided  into  a  great  number  of  indepen 
dent  principalities,  all  under  monarchical  governments. 
The  prevailing  religion  was  that  of  the  Druids.  In 
regard  to  arts,  sciences,  and  manners,  the  Britons 
were  in  a  state  of  barbarism.  The  only  art  which 
they  possessed  in  any  degree  of  advancement  was  that 
of  war.  Some  of  the  British  tribes  were  naked,  but 
none  of  them  were  unarmed.  Many  of  them  were 
ignorant  of  the  arts  of  agriculture,  spinning,  and  weav- 
mg,  but  all  of  them  could  fight  with  much  courage 
and  skill.  This  art  they  had  acquired  in  the  inces- 
sant wars  which  kept  the  petty  states  of  Britain  involv- 


88 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


ed  in  almost  perpetual  conflicts  with  one  another ;  and, 
by  their  skill  in  arms,  they  were  enabled  to  maintain  a 
long  and  glorious  struggle  for  liberty  against  the  Ro- 
mans, who  far  excelled  all  the  rest  of  mankind  in  the 
dreadful  art  of  subduing  and  destroying  their  fellow- 
creatures. 

The  British  infantry  were  swift  of  foot,  and  very 
expert  in  swimming  rivers  and  passing  over  fens  and 
marshes,  which  enabled  them  to  make  sudden  and  un- 
expected attacks.  They  were  not  encumbered  with 
much  clothing,  many  of  them  being  almost  naked, 
having  no  defensive  armor  except  light  shields.  They 
carried  long  and  broad  swords  without  points,  and 
spears  with  round  brass  bells  at  the  butt  end  to  make  a 
loud  noise  when  they  engaged  the  enemy's  horse. 
The  British  cavalry  were  accustomed  to  dismount 
occasionally  and  fight  on  foot ;  and  their  horses  were 
so  well  trained  that  they  stood  firm  in  their  places  till 
their  riders  returned.  But  the  most  remarkable  of  the 
British  combatants  were  those  who  fought  in  chariots. 
This  singular  art  of  war  was  almost  peculiar  to  the 
ancient  Britons,  and  they  greatly  excelled  in  it.  The 
British  chariots  merit,  therefore,  a  particular  description. 

When  we  consider  the  imperfect  state  of  some  of 
the  most  useful  arts  in  Britain  before  the  invasion  of 
the  Romans,  we  could  hardly  expect  to  find  here  wheel- 
carriages  of  any  kind  ;  much  less  chariots  for  purposes 
of  state,  pleasure,  and  war,  of  various  forms,  and 
of  curious  and  elegant  workmanship.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, from  the  concurring  testimony  of  many  ancient 
writers  of  unquestionable  credit,  that  the  Britons  pos- 
sessed such  chariots  in  prodigious  numbers,  even  in 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


89 


the  most  remote  and  savage  parts  of  the  island.  Six 
different  kinds  are  mentioned  by  name  in  the  Greek 
and  Roman  authors.  Three  of  these,  the  covinus^  the 
essedum^  and  the  rheda^  were  war-chariots.  The  co- 
vinus  was  a  terrible  instrument  of  destruction  ;  it  was 
furnished  with  scythes  and  hooks,  and  was  built  light, 
to  drive  with  great  force  and  rapidity  through  the  ranks 
of  the  enemy.  The  prodigious  numbers  of  these 
chariots,  and  the  dexterity  with  which  the  barbarians 
managed  them,  excite  our  wonder.  Coesar  informs  us 
that  Cassibelan,  after  dismissing  all  his  other  forces, 
retained  about  him  no  less  than  four  thousand  chariot- 
warriors.  The  same  careful  observer  thus  describes 
their  method  of  fighting  ;  First,  they  drive  their  char- 
iots forward,  and  throw  their  darts  ;  by  the  fright  they 
occasion  the  horses,  and  the  noise  of  the  wheels,  they 
often  break  the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  When  they  have 
forced  their  way  into  the  midst  of  the  cavalry,  they 
leap  from  their  chariots  and  fight  on  foot.  The  drivers 
withdraw  a  short  distance  from  the  combat,  and  station 
themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  to  favor  the  retreat  of 
their  countrymen,  should  they  be  overpowered  by  the 
enemy.  Thus  in  action  they  perform  the  part  both 
of  nimble  horsemen  and  of  stable  infantry ;  and  by 
continual  exercise  they  have  acquired  so  wonderful  a 
degree  of  expertness,  that,  in  the  most  steep  and  difli- 
cult  places,  they  can  stop  their  horses  when  at  full 
speed,  turn  them  which  way  they  please,  run  out  upon 
the  shaft,  rest  on  the  harness,  and  throw  themselves 
back  into  their  chariots  with  inconceivable  dexterity." 

The  Britons  painted  themselves  like  the  American 
Indians,  and  practised  the  art  of  tattooing  as  it  is  now 
8* 


90 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


in  use  among  the  South  Sea  islanders.  They  had 
some  rude  notions  of  sculpture,  and  made  images  of 
clay,  which  they  hardened  in  the  fire.  They  excelled 
in  wicker-work,  and  their  baskets  were  sent  to  Rome, 
where  they  were  much  admired.  They  seem  to  have 
been  the  inventors  of  this  domestic  utensil,  and  the 
name  which  they  gave  it,  hascauda,  is  one  of  the 
few  words  of  their  language  which  is  recognized  in 
our  modern  English  tongue. 


ALFRED  AND  HIS  TIMES. 

The  semi-barbarous  era  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  is 
illuminated  by  a  ray  of  glory  from  the  reign  of  Alfred, 
a  prince  on  whom  an  impartial  posterity  has  conferred 
the  epithet  of  "  the  Great.''  The  kings,  his  predeces- 
sors, are  chiefly  known  to  us  by  their  military  achieve- 
ments ;  but  it  is  the  distinguishing  praise  of  Alfred, 
that  he  was  not  only  a  warrior,  but  also  the  patron  of 
the  arts,  and  the  legislator  of  his  people.  He  was  the 
son  of  ^thelwolf,  king  of  the  West  Saxons,  and  was 
born  in  849.  He  was  the  youngest  of  four  sons,  but 
his  beauty,  vivacity,  and  playfulness  endeared  him  in 
a  particular  manner  to  his  parents,  who  predicted  that 
he  would  one  day  prove  the  chief  ornament  of  the 
family.  In  his  fifth  year,  his  father  sent  him  to  Rome 
to  be  crowned  by  the  Pope. 

Letters  were  in  a  declining  state  among  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  and  the  nobility  divided  their  time  between 


Saxons. 


92 


SKETCHES  FKOM  THE 


the  occupations  of  war  and  the  pleasures  of  the  chase. 
But  the  mother  of  Alfred  had  the  merit  of  awakenino; 
in  his  mind  that  passion  for  learning  by  which  he  be- 
came so  honorably  distinguished  among  his  contem- 
poraries. She  offered  a  Saxon  poem,  elegantly  written 
and  illuminated,  as  a  reward  to  the  first  of  her  chil- 
dren who  should  learn  to  read  it.  The  emulation  of 
Alfred  was  excited  ;  he  applied  himself  to  study  with 
diligence,  performed  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  mother, 
and  received  the  prize  of  his  industry.  —  During  the 
reign  of  his  brothers,  he  possessed  the  government  of 
a  petty  district,  with  the  title  of  King. 

In  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  age  he  succeeded 
to  the  crown.  England  was  then  suffering  from  the 
inroads  of  the  Danes,  who  had  invaded  the  country  at 
different  periods  for  nearly  a  century  preceding.  Al- 
fred's first  campaign  against  them  was  unfortunate  ;  at 
the  battle  of  Wilton,  the  Saxon  army  was  defeated,  and 
he  found  it  necessary  to  negotiate.  The  Danes,  prob- 
ably induced  by  a  valuable  present,  withdrew  to  Lon- 
don. But  this  pacification  was  not  of  long  continu- 
ance. New  bands  of  adventurers  arrived  from  Den- 
mark, and  the  invaders  recommenced  hostilities  with 
such  success  that  in  a  short  time  the  whole  Anglo- 
Saxon  territory  fell  under  their  dominion,  except  the 
districts  south  of  the  Thames  and  north  of  the  Tyne. 
The  devastations  of  war  now  desolated  the  country  in 
almost  every  quarter.  Towns,  villages,  and  convents 
were  ravaged  and  burnt  to  the  ground,  and  the  route 
of  the  conquerors  might  be  traced  by  smoking  ruins, 
and  the  mangled  remains  of  the  victims  of  their  bar- 
barity.   The  Danish  fleets  in  the  mean  time  ravaged 


HISTORY   OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


93 


the  coast.  Alfred,  unable  to  oppose  any  efficient 
force  against  so  formidable  an  army,  again  had  re- 
course to  negotiation.  Guthrum,  the  Danish  leader, 
agreed  for  a  considerable  sum  to  retire  out  of  Alfred's 
kingdom  of  Wessex ;  but,  the  perfidy  of  the  Danes 
being  notorious,  a  number  of  hostages  were  demanded. 
The  hostages  were  given.  Alfred  next  required  their 
oaths,  and  they  swore  by  their  bracelets.  He  was  not 
satisfied,  and  they  swore  by  the  relics  of  the  Christian 
Saints.  Believing  that  he  had  bound  them  now  by  the 
strongest  ties,  he  peacefully  awaited  their  departure  ; 
but  in  the  dead  of  night  a  body  of  the  Danes  fell 
upon  the  Saxon  cavalry,  put  them  to  the  sword,  mount- 
ed the  horses  of  the  slain,  and  by  a  rapid  march  sur- 
prised and  captured  Exeter. 

Alfred  now  saw  the  necessity  of  a  naval  force  in 
order  to  expel  the  invaders  from  his  territories.  He 
accordingly  equipped  a  few  vessels,  and,  manning 
them  with  foreign  adventurers,  sailed  in  quest  of  the 
enemy.  Fortune  threw  in  his  way  a  Danish  fleet 
of  seven  ships,  one  of  which  he  captured,  and  the 
others  escaped.  This  trifling  success  raised  his  hopes. 
He  built  more  ships  and  galleys,  and,  by  unceasing 
efforts,  he  at  last  succeeded  in  creating  a  navy.  He 
was  victorious  at  sea,  and  the  Danes  lost  a  hundred 
and  twenty  ships,  partly  by  capture  and  partly  by 
shipwreck.  Guthrum  was  now  compelled  to  treat  in 
earnest,  and  he  evacuated  Alfred's  dominions. 

The  crafty  Dane,  however,  did  not  abandon  his 
resolution  of  subjugating  the  Anglo-Saxons.  He  de- 
termined on  the  extraordinary  expedient  of  a  winter 
campaign,  which  had  been  hitherto  unknown  among 


94 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


his  countrymen.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  878, 
his  followers  received  an  unexpected  summons  to  meet 
him  on  horseback  at  an  appointed  place.  By  a  sudden 
attack  they  made  themselves  masters  of  Chippenham, 
and  Alfred  narrowly  escaped  being  taken  prisoner. 
The  Saxons  were  surprised  by  the  enemy  before  they 
heard  of  the  war,  and  the  king  saw  himself  surrounded 
by  the  invaders  without  any  force  to  resist  them.  Many 
of  the  inhabitants  fled  the  kingdom,  others  submitted 
to  the  conquerors,  and  Alfred,  almost  entirely  aban- 
doned by  his  people,  was  compelled  to  betake  himself 
to  flight,  and  wander,  a  solitary  fugitive,  on  foot,  among 
the  morasses  of  Somersetshire.  This  is  the  period  of 
the  lowest  depression  of  his  fortunes,  and  the  point  of 
most  romantic  interest  in  his  history.  At  length  he 
found  a  secure  retreat  in  a  small  island  situated  in  a 
marshy  spot  at  the  confluence  of  the  Thone  and  the 
Parret,  which  afterwards  obtained  the  name  of  ^thel- 
ingay,  or  Prince's  Island. 

During  his  lone  wanderijtgs,  as  the  Saxon  histo- 
ries inform  us,  he  found  a  shelter  at  one  time  in  the 
house  of  a  man  who  kept  his  cattle.  On  a  certain  day, 
the  good  woman  of  the  house  made  some  cakes  and 
put  them  before  the  fire  to  bake,  charging  Alfred,  who 
sat  by,  trimming  his  bow  and  arrows,  to  take  care  that 
they  did  not  burn ;  but  the  king,  either  absorbed  in 
thought  or  intent  on  his  work,  neglected  the  task,  and 
the  careful  housewife  on  her  return  found  them  spoiled 
by  the  fire.  She  gave  the  monarch  a  severe  scolding, 
and  reminded  him,  sarcastically,  that  he  was  always 
ready  enough  to  eat  her  cakes,  though  he  was  too  lazy 
to  see  to  their  baking.    Few  of  Alfred's  biographers 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


95 


have  been  willing  to  omit  this  curious  anecdote,  which 
stands  upon  as  good  evidence  as  the  case  will  admit. 
The  reader  will  excuse  us  for  adding  another.  After 
Alfred  had  established  himself  in  his  retreat  at  yEthel- 
ingay,  he  was  joined  by  his  queen.  While  they  sat 
alone  one  day,  the  king  beguiling  the  tedium  of  the 
hours  by  reading  aloud  to  his  wife,  he  was  interrupted 
by  a  poor  beggar  who  entreated  for  something  to  eat. 
Alfred  bade  the  queen  see  what  they  had  in  the  cup- 
board ;  she  examined  and  answered,  "  One  small  loaf." 
He  directed  her  to  divide  it  with  the  beggar,  and  trust 
to  Providence  for  a  further  supply  for  themselves. 
We  omit  the  marvellous  and  miraculous  circum- 
stances with  which  the  monkish  historians  have  em- 
bellished the  narrative  of  this  simple  deed  of  charity. 

By  degrees  the  retreat  of  Alfred  became  known  to 
his  countrymen,  and  he  was  joined  by  many  trusty 
adherents.  At  their  head  he  occasionally  issued  from 
his  concealment,  intercepted  straggling  parties  of  the 
Danes,  and  returned  laden  with  the  spoils  of  the  en- 
emy. As  his  associates  multiplied,  these  excursions 
were  more  frequent  and  successful  ;  a  fort  was  built 
on  the  island,  and  a  bridge  to  connect  it  with  the  main 
land.  In  the  mean  time  another  strong  body  of  Danes 
had  landed  in  England,  and  laid  siege  to  the  castle  of 
Kynwith.  It  had  no  other  fortification  than  a  loose 
wall,  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient  Britons,  but  its 
position,  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty  rock,  rendered  it 
almost  impregnable.  The  Danish  leader  was  too  pru- 
dent to  hazard  an  assault,  and  pitched  his  camp  at  the 
foot  of  the  rock,  in  the  confident  expectation  that  the 
want  of  water  would  compel  the  garrison  to  surrender. 


96 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


But  the  Saxons,  gathering  courage  from  despair,  left 
their  intrenchments  at  the  dawn  of  morning,  burst  into 
the  enemy's  quarters,  slew  their  leader  w^ith  twelve 
hundred  men,  and  drove  the  remainder  to  their  fleet. 
Among  the  trophies  of  this  victory  was  the  mysteri- 
ous standard  of  the  Raven,  woven  in  one  noon-tide 
by  the  three  daughters  of  Ragnar.  Great  importance 
was  attached  by  the  superstitious  Danes  to  this  magi- 
cal banner.  As  they  marched  to  battle,  they  were 
accustomed  to  observe  the  picture  of  the  raven  em- 
broidered upon  its  folds.  If  it  appeared  to  flap  its 
wings,  it  was  a  sure  omen  of  victory  ;  but  if  it  hung 
motionless  in  the  air,  they  anticipated  a  certain  defeat. 

Highly  encouraged  by  this  brilliant  success,  the 
Saxons  obeyed  the  summons  of  Alfred  to  meet  him  at 
Selwood  forest,  and  flocked  in  great  numbers  to  the 
rendezvous.  At  the  appearance  of  their  sovereign, 
the  wood  reechoed  with  their  acclamations,  and  every 
heart  beat  with  the  confidence  of  victory.  The  spot, 
however,  was  too  confined  to  receive  the  multitudes 
that  hastened  to  the  royal  standard,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing the  camp  w^as  removed  to  Icglea,  a  spacious  plain 
in  the  neighbourhood.  The  day  was  spent  in  making 
preparations  for  the  conflict.  A  strong  army  of  Danes 
was  encamped  not  far  ofl* ;  and,  if  we  may  believe  the 
Saxon  historians,  Alfred  engaged  in  a  bold  adventure 
to  inform  himself  of  the  strength  and  position  of  the 
enemy.  Disguising  himself  as  a  wandering  harper,  he 
ventured  into  the  Danish  camp,  which  he  traversed  in 
all  parts,  critically  examining  every  object.  He  was 
even  admitted  into  the  tents  of  the  Danish  leaders, 
whom  he  entertained  by  an  exhibition  of  his  musical 
skill.    Having  thus  obtained  full  information  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


97 


state  of  the  enemy's  forces,  he  returned  unsuspected, 
and  prepared  for  the  attack. 

The  two  armies  met  at  Eddington.  As  they  ap- 
proached each  other,  they  vociferated  shouts  of  mutual 
defiance  ;  and,  after  the  discharge  of  their  missiles, 
rushed  to  close  combat.  The  shock  of  the  two  nations, 
the  efforts  of  their  leaders,  the  fluctuations  of  victory, 
and  the  alternate  hopes  and  fears  of  the  contending 
parties,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  describe.  At  length 
the  perseverance  of  the  Saxons  bore  down  all  opposi- 
tion, and  the  Danes,  after  an  obstinate  defence,  fled  in 
crowds  to  their  camp.  The  pursuit  was  not  less  san- 
guinary than  the  engagement.  The  Saxons  put  to 
death  every  fugitive  who  fell  into  their  hands.  The 
Danes  were  besieged  in  their  camp,  and  Guthrum  on 
the  fourteenth  day  offered  to  capitulate.  The  terms 
imposed  by  Alfred  were,  that  the  king  and  principal 
chieftains  should  embrace  Christianity,  and  that  the 
Danes  should  entirely  evacuate  the  Saxon  territory. 
These  terms  were  complied  with,  and  the  victory  of 
Eddington  established  the  independence  of  Alfred's 
kingdom. 

From  this  period  he  suffered  comparatively  little  an- 
noyance from  enemies  for  the  space  of  fifteen  years, 
and  found  himself  at  leisure  to  attend  to  the  improve- 
ment and  civilization  of  his  people.  The  towns  and 
villages  were  put  in  a  state  of  defence,  and  the  naval 
force  was  strengthened.  Ships  were  built  of  larger 
dimensions  than  those  of  the  Danes  ;  they  were  double 
the  length,  and  constructed  with  higher  decks,  which 
gave  the  Saxons  great  advantage  in  battle.  Several  of 
these  ships  had  above  thirty  oars  on  each  side. 
VIII. — 9 


98 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


Alfred  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  domestic  con- 
cerns of  the  country.  During  the  ravages  of  the  Danes, 
the  whole  fabric  of  civil  government  had  been  nearly 
dissolved.  The  courts  had  been  closed,  and  all  sorts  of 
crimes  committed  with  impunity.  The  Saxons,  during 
this  period  of  license  and  rapine,  had  caught  from  the 
Danes  a  spirit  of  insubordination,  a  contempt  for  peace, 
justice,  and  religion.  Alfred  undertook  the  arduous 
task  of  remedying  these  evils,  and,  by  the  most  untiring 
assiduity  and  vigilance,  he  accomplished  his  great  pur- 
pose. The  ignorant,  capricious,  and  despotic  judges 
were  displaced  or  reformed.  The  salutary  institutions 
of  the  ancient  Saxon  kings  were  restored,  and  a  new 
code  of  laws  was  digested,  supplying  existing  defi- 
ciencies, and  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times. 
Alfred  heard  appeals  with  the  most  patient  attention. 
In  cases  of  importance,  he  revised  the  proceedings  at 
his  leisure,  and  the  inferior  magistrates  trembled  at  the 
impartiality  and  severe  justice  of  their  sovereign. 
Forty-four  magistrates  are  said  to  have  been  put  to 
death  by  his  order  in  one  year,  for  illegal  and  iniqui- 
tous proceedings.  This  severity  caused  a  complete 
revolution  in  an  important  branch  of  public  manners. 
The  judges  not  only  became  upright,  but  the  people 
honest  and  orderly.  Theft  and  murder  were  now  as 
remarkable  for  their  rarity  as  in  former  times  for  their 
frequency.  To  prove  the  reformation  of  his  subjects, 
Alfred,  we  are  told,  caused  valuable  jewels  to  be  hung 
up  in  sight  along  the  highways,  which  no  man  ventured 
to  remove  ;  and  it  is  further  stated,  that,  if  a  traveller 
lost  his  purse  on  the  road,  he  would,  at  the  end  of  a 
month,  find  it  lying,  untouched,  on  the  same  spot.  As 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


99 


literal  facts,  we  may  reasonably  discredit  these  tales ; 
but,  even  if  pure  inventions,  they  serve  to  show  the 
high  estimation  in  which  Alfred's  administration  of 
justice  was  held  by  his  posterity. 

Learning  had  fallen  into  so  deplorable  a  state  during 
the  Danish  invasions,  that,  on  the  accession  of  Alfred 
to  the  throne,  his  whole  dominions  could  hardly  boast 
of  one  scholar  able  to  read  Latin.  The  churches  and 
monasteries,  the  only  seminaries  of  learning  in  that 
age,  had  been  destroyed.  The  king,  who  never  lost 
his  youthful  passion  for  knowledge,  endeavoured  to 
promote  literary  studies  among  his  people.  He  invited 
to  his  court  the  most  distinguished  scholars  from  for- 
eign countries,  and,  with  their  assistance,  he  began,  in 
his  thirty-ninth  year,  to  apply  himself  to  the  study  of 
Roman  literature.  He  established  schools  in  various 
places,  and  made  endeavours  that  the  children  of  every 
freeman,  whose  circumstances  would  allow  it,  should 
learn  reading  and  writing,  and  that  all  persons,  designed 
for  civil  or  ecclesiastical  employments,  should  be  in- 
structed in  Latin. 

Alfred's  judicial  reforms  constituted  the  most  lasting 
memorial  of  Tiis  genius.  He  divided  all  England  into 
shires  or  counties,  the  counties  into  hundreds,  and  the 
hundreds  into  tythings.  In  this  manner,  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  kingdom  were  obliged  to  belong  to  some 
ty thing,  and  whoever  did  not  was  looked  upon  as  a 
vagabond,  and  denied  the  protection  of  the  law.  Every 
householder  was  held  to  answer  for  his  wife,  his  chil- 
dren under  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  his  domestics. 
If  any  one,  by  his  way  of  living,  fell  under  suspicion 
of  irregularity,  he  was  compelled  to  give  security  for 


100 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


his  good  behaviour;  and,  in  case  he  could  procure  none, 
the  ty thing  threw  him  into  prison,  to  prevent  their 
being  HaWe  to  a  penalty,  should  he  commit  any  of- 
fence. Thus  the  householders  being  responsible  for 
their  families,  the  tythings  for  the  householders,  the 
hundreds  for  the  tythings,  and  the  counties  for  the  hun- 
dreds, every  one  was  watchful  over  his  neighbour's 
actions.  If  a  stranger,  guilty  of  any  crime,  made  his  es- 
cape, information  was  taken  of  the  house  where  he  had 
lodged,  and,  if  he  had  been  there  three  days,  the  mas- 
ter was  condemned  to  pay  the  fine.  As  Alfred  had 
the  sagacity  to  perceive  that  the  spirit  of  oppression 
naturally  grew  upon  men  in  authority,  he  studied  to 
prevent  abuses  in  the  decisions  of  the  magistrates.  For 
this  purpose,  he  provided,  that,  in  all  criminal  cases, 
twelve  men,  selected  for  the  purpose,  should  determine 
concerning  the  facts  alleged,  and  the  judge  give  sen- 
tence according  to  their  verdict.  Such  was  the  origin 
of  the  English  trial  by  jury,  the  distinguishing  feature 
of  modern  jurisprudence. 

The  progress  which  tliis  great  prince  made  in  learn- 
ing, while  occupied  in  the  busy  scenes  of  war  and 
legislation,  affords  a  remarkable  instance  6f  his  econo- 
my of  time,  industry,  and  assiduity  in  study.  He  was 
the  best  Saxon  poet  of  his  age,  an  excellent  gramma- 
rian, orator,  architect,  geometrician,  a^id  historian.  He 
translated  from  the  Latin  into  Saxon,  "  Boethius  de 
Consolatione,"  "Gregory's  Pastoral,"  "  Bede's  Eccle- 
siastical History,"  and  the  "  Epitome  of  Orosius," 
besides  composing  several  original  works.  While  he 
lay  concealed  at  jEthelingay,  he  made  a  vow  to  dedi- 
cate to  the  service  of  God  a  third  part  of  his  time, 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


101 


as  soon  as  he  should  be  restored  to  a  tranquil  condi- 
tion. He  was  punctual  to  this  vow,  and  allotted  eight 
hours  every  day  to  acts  of  devotion,  eight  to  public 
affairs,  and  the  remainder  to  sleep,  study,  and  neces- 
sary refreshment.  As  clocks  and  hour-glasses  were 
not  yet  known  in  England,  he  measured  time  with 
wax  candles  marked  with  colored  hnes  for  the  hours  ; 
and,  to  guard  them  from  irregular  consumption  on  ac- 
count of  the  wind,  he  is  said  to  have  invented  horn 
lanterns.  This  is  probably  the  most  humble  domestic 
utensil  that  ever  owed  its  origin  to  a  king.  Napoleon, 
indeed,  invented  a  pillow  with  a  cavity  to  fit  the  ear,  — 
but  this  was  a  small  compensation  for  having  made 
half  the  world  lie  uneasy  in  their  beds. 

After  a  glorious  reign  of  more  than  twenty-five  years, 
Alfred  died  on  the  26th  of  October,  in  the  year  900.  He 
made  liberal  bequests  in  his  will,  and,  in  particular, 
forbade  his  heirs  to  invade  the  liberty  of  those  persons 
whom  he  had  set  free.  For  God's  love,"  says  he, 
"  and  for  the  advantage  of  my  soul,  I  will  that  they  be 
masters  of  their  own  freedom  and  of  their  own  will. 
And,  in  the  name  of  the  living  God,  I  entreat  that  no 
man  disturb  them  by  exaction  of  money,  or  in  any 
otlier  manner,  but  that  they  be  left  at  liberty  to  serve 
any  lord  whom  they  may  choose  "  :  — a  striking  coin- 
cidence between  the  last  will  and  testament  of  two 
great  men,  —  Alfred  and  Washington. 


9* 


102 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


CANUTE  AND  HIS  TIMES. 


Canute  reproving  his  Flatterers. 

Among  the  Danish  kings  of  England,  Canute  stands 
preeminent  for  his  wisdom  and  military  prowess.  His 
father,  Sweyn,  king  of  Denmark,  after  a  most  success- 
ful campaign  against  the  Saxons,  entered  London  in 
triumph,  and  England  was  completely  conquered. 
But  before  the  crown  could  be  placed  upon  his  head, 
he  was  snatched  away  by  a  sudden  death,  in  February, 
1014.  The  dejected  spirits  of  the  conquered  nation 
revived  at  this  event,  and  they  again  rose  m  resistance 
against  the  invaders.  The  Danes,  taken  unawares  by 
this  sudden  renewal  of  hostilities,  were  defeated  with 
great  loss,  and  forced  to  take  refuge  on  board  their 
ships.     Canute,  who  succeeded  his  father,  sailed  to 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


103 


Denmark  to  take  possession  of  that  kingdom.  Hav- 
ing settled  the  affairs  of  his  hereditary  dominions,  he 
returned  to  assert  his  claim  to  the  crown  of  England, 

He  quickly  subdued  several  districts,  and  obtained  a 
firm  footing  in  the  country.  Ethelred,  the  Saxon  king, 
maintained  himself  at  London,  where  he  died.  Ed- 
mund, his  son,  was  crowned  king  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  assisted  by  a  very  few  of  the  English 
nobility  and  clergy  ;  but  his  affairs  were  in  so  unprom- 
ising a  state,  that  far  the  greater  part  of  the  nobility 
attended  Canute  at  Southampton,  where  they  swore  al- 
legiance to  him  as  their  king,  and  abjured  all  the  pos- 
terity of  Ethelred.  After  these  ceremonies,  both  these 
princes  prepared  to  contend  for  the  crown  of  England 
with  such  spirit  and  valor  as  showed  that  neither  of 
them  was  unworthy  of  the  prize.  Edmund,  who,  from 
his  courage  and  resolution  in  war,  had  obtained  the 
surname  of  Ironside^  hastened  to  Wessex,  where  his 
party  was  in  considerable  strength.  Canute,  taking 
advantage  of  his  absence,  laid  siege  to  London,  but 
the  bravery  of  the  citizens  baffled  all  his  efforts.  Ed- 
mund forced  him  to  raise  the  siege.  Five  bloody  bat- 
tles were  fought,  and  London  was  besieged  three  times 
during  the  year  1016.  A  treaty  followed,  by  which 
the  kingdom  was  divided  between  the  rival  kings.  Ed- 
mund fell  by  assassination  shortly  after  this,  and  Ca- 
nute was  acknowledged  king  of  all  England  by  a  gen- 
eral assembly  of  all  the  chief  persons  of  the  nobility 
and  clergy  held  at  London  in  1017. 

Having  secured  himself  in  his  new  dominion,  this 
politic  prince  undertook  the  performance  of  several 
meritorious  acts  of  justice.    In  the  course  of  the  pre- 


104 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


ceding  wars,  some  of  the  English  nobles  had  shame* 
fully  betrayed  the  cause  of  their  king  and  country. 
As  long  as  Canute  needed  the  treason,  he  cherished 
the  traitors  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  found  himself  in  peace- 
able possession  of  the  throne,  he  banished  some  of 
them,  and  put  others  to  death.  Still  further  to  gain  the 
affections  of  his  English  subjects,  he  married  the  wid- 
ow of  the  late  king  Ethelred.  By  these  and  many 
other  prudent  measures,  he  found  himself  so  firmly 
seated  on  the  throne,  that  he  ventured,  in  1019,  to  make 
a  voyage  to  Denmark,  which  kingdom  was  then  at  war 
with  Sweden.  He  passed  a  year  on  this  visit,  and,  on 
his  return  to  England,  found  every  thing  in  the  most 
perfect  tranquillity,  which  continued  several  years. 
During  this  time,  he  occupied  himself  in  making  ju- 
dicious laws,  building  churches  and  monasteries,  and 
in  other  popular  and  pious  works. 

In  the  year  1028,  he  undertook  an  expedition  into 
Norway,  reviving  some  old  pretensions  which  he  had 
to  the  crown  of  that  kingdom.  Olaus,  the  actual  sov- 
ereign, was  a  weak  and  unwarlike  prince,  and  Canute 
judged  this  a  favorable  opportunity  to  enforce  his 
claims.  By  intriguing  with  the  Norwegian  nobility,  he 
formed  a  strong  party  in  that  country  favorable  to  his 
interests.  He  then  sailed  with  a  powerful  army  for 
Denmark,  whence  he  suddenly  crossed  the  sound  and 
landed  in  Norway.  Olaus,  totally  ignorant  of  his  de- 
signs, was  taken  by  surprise  at  this  sudden  invasion, 
and  was  still  more  astonished  to  see  the  greater  part 
of  his  subjects  join  the  enemy.  Unable  to  resist  the 
invaders,  he  had  no  resource  but  to  abandon  the  king- 
dom, and  save  himself  by  flight.    Olaus  is  said  to  have 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


105 


lost  the  attachment  of  his  people  by  his  untimely  zeal 
and  vain  endeavours  to  restrain  them  from  piracy,  a 
practice  very  common  at  that  period  among  the  nations 
of  Northern  Europe.  Canute  was  crowned  king  of 
Norway;  and,  two  years  after,  the  exiled  prince,  at- 
tempting to  recover  his  dominions,  was  slain  by  his 
own  people,  which  left  Canute  in  peaceable  possession 
of  the  throne. 

The  conquest  of  Norway  seems  fully  to  have  satis- 
fied his  ambition  and  satiated  his  passion  for  war. 
From  that  time,  laying  aside  all  thoughts  of  augment- 
ing his  dominions,  he  gave  himself  up  to  acts  of  devo- 
tion, building  and  enriching  churches  and  monasteries. 
Although  a  wise,  and  in  many  respects  a  great  prince, 
he  was  not  superior  to  the  degrading  superstition  which 
prevailed  in  that  age  of  intellectual  darkness.  Influ- 
enced chiefly  by  this  feeling,  he  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome  in  1031,  attended  by  a  numerous  and  splendid 
train  of  nobility,  and  lavished  greater  sums  of  money 
upon  the  churches  and  clergy  of  that  city  than  any 
foreign  prince  had  ever  done  before.  He  obtained, 
in  requital,  from  the  Pope,  some  additional  privileges 
for  the  English  college  at  Rome,  and  the  travellers 
who  visited  the  tombs  of  the  apostles  ;  but  what  he 
probably  valued  more  than  all  the  rest  was  a  plenary 
pardon  of  all  his  sins,  and  the  special  friendship  of 
St.  Peter. 

On  his  return  to  England,  he  commenced  hostilities 
against  the  Scots  on  the  following  account.  During 
the  early  invasions  of  the  Danes,  it  became  necessary 
very  frequently  to  bribe  them  with  money  to  desist 
from  their  depredations  and  leave  the  country.  The 


106 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


expense  of  this,  and  the  maintenance  of  armies  for 
defence,  much  exceeded  the  ordinary  revenues  of  the 
crown,  A  land-tax  was,  therefore,  imposed,  called 
Danegeld^  or  the  Danes'  pay.  The  Scottish  kings  held 
the  province  of  Cumberland  by  a  feudal  tenure  from 
the  English  crown  ;  but  they  had  constantly  refused 
to  pa}^  this  Ignominious  tax.  Canute  determined  no 
longer  to  allow  this  delinquency,  and,  raising  an  army, 
he  marched  toward  the  North  to  enforce  the  payment 
of  the  Danegeld  or  expel  the  Scots  from  England. 
Malcolm,  the  Scottish  king,  knew  himself  to  be  unable 
to  resist  so  powerful  a  foe,  and,  before  the  two  nations 
came  to  battle,  he  thought  fit  to  compromise  the 
quarrel  without  bloodshed.  He  saved  his  honor  by 
granting  Cumberland  to  his  grandson  Duncan,  who 
agreed  to  pay  the  tribute. 

The  remainder  of  the  reign  of  Canute  offers  little  to 
attract  the  notice  of  the  historian.  All  his  dominions 
enjoyed  a  profound  peace  till  his  death,  on  the  12th  of 
November,  1035.  The  British  annalists  have  not 
scrupled  to  give  this  prince  the  name  of  Great,  an 
honor  which  he  merits  less  perhaps  by  his  conquests 
than  by  the  pacific  portion  of  his  life.  His  title  to  the 
kingdoms  which  he  subjugated  was  very  questionable, 
to  say  the  least.  He  shed  much  blood,  and  he  tram- 
pled upon  religion  and  justice,  for  his  own  aggrandize- 
ment. But,  if  there  be  no  exaggeration  in  what  histo- 
rians say  of  him,  many  years  before  his  death  he 
became  just,  humble,  modest,  religious,  and  truly  wise. 
From  the  time  that  he  saw  himself  firmly  fixed  on  the 
throne,  he  gave  daily  marks  of  piety,  justice,  and  mod- 
eration, which  gained  him  the  affection  of  his  subjects 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


107 


and  the  esteem  of  foreigners.  A  prince  so  prosperous 
and  powerful,  the  sovereign  of  three  great  kingdoms, 
could  not  be  destitute  of  flatterers.  Some  of  his  cour- 
tiers, if  we  may  believe  recorded  accounts,  carried 
their  absurd  adulation  to  so  extravagant  a  length  as  to 
declare,  in  his  presence,  that  the  very  elements  were 
under  his  control,  and  nothing  in  nature  dared  disobey 
his  commands. 

One  day,  while  walking  with  his  attendants  by  the 
seaside  at  Southampton,  he  undertook  to  rebuke  this 
wretched  sycophancy  in  a  striking  manner.  He  or- 
dered his  chair  to  be  placed  on  the  beach,  while  the 
tide  was  beginning  to  rise  ;  and,  taking  his  seat,  he  ex- 
claimed to  the  waters,  in  a  voice  of  authority,  "  O  sea  ! 
thou  art  under  my  control,  and  the  land  on  which  I  sit 
is  mine  :  I  charge  thee  to  approach  no  further,  nor  dare 
to  wet  the  feet  of  thy  sovereign  !  "  But  the  rising 
billows,  regardless  of  his  command,  dashed  upon  the 
shore  and  forced  him  to  retire.  The  king  turned  to 
his  flatterers,  and  said,  "  Learn  from  this  example 
the  insignificance  of  all  human  power,  and  that  God 
alone  is  omnipotent  !  "  He  then  took  the  crown 
from  his  head,  and,  we  are  told,  never  wore  it  after- 
wards, but  ordered  it  to  be  placed  on  the  crucifix  at 
Winchester. 

Canute  was  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  monarch 
of  his  time.  Though  he  had  been  baptized  in  his  in- 
fancy, he  knew  little  of  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  in 
the  early  part  of  his  career.  But,  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  wars  which  seated  him  on  the  English  throne, 
the  ferocity  of  his  disposition  was  softened  by  the  pre- 
cepts of  religion  ;  he  entered  deeply  and  with  sincerity 


108 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


into  the  devotion  of  the  times,  and  the  sanguinary  sea- 
king  was  gradually  moulded  into  a  just  and  beneficent 
monarch.  He  often  lamented  the  bloodshed  and  mis- 
ery which  his  own  rapacity  and  that  of  his  father  had 
inflicted  on  the  English  people,  and  acknowledged  it 
his  duty  to  make  a  compensation  for  their  sufferings 
by  a  peaceful  and  equitable  reign.  In  a  Wittenagemote 
at  Oxford,  he  persuaded  the  English  and  Danish  thanes 
to  forgive  each  other  any  existing  cause  of  offence, 
and  to  promise  a  mutual  friendship  for  the  future. 

As  a  legislator,  Canute  is  entitled  to  high  praise. 
He  compiled  a  code  of  laws  from  the  enactments  of 
former  kings,  with  such  additions  as  were  required  by 
the  existing  state  of  society.  By  the  incorporation  of 
the  Danes  with  the  Saxons,  the  rites  of  paganism  again 
made  their  appearance  in  England.  Canute  forbade 
the  worship  of  the  heathen  gods,  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
of  fire  and  water,  of  stones  and  fountains,  of  forests 
and  trees.  He  denounced  punishments  against  those 
who  pretended  to  deal  in  witchcraft,  and  the  "  workers 
of  death,"  whether  by  lots,  or  flame,  or  any  other 
charms.  He  prohibited  the  custom  of  sending  Chris- 
tians for  sale  into  foreign  countries,  not  from  any  dis- 
approbation of  slavery  itself,  but  because  such  Chris- 
tians would  be  in  danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of 
infidel  masters,  and  of  being  seduced  from  their  reli- 
gion. He  undertook  to  relieve  his  people  from  a 
portion  of  the  burdens  arising  from  feudal  services, 
which  in  England,  as  well  as  in  the  other  European 
nations,  had  long  been  on  the  increase. 

The  sincerity  and  earnestness  with  which  he  studied 
the  welfare  of  his  subjects  may  be  seen  from  the  foi- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


109 


lowing  extract  from  a  letter  which  he  addressed  to  them 
while  on  his  journey  to  Rome,  and  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  sort  of  public  proclamation :  "  Now, 
therefore,  be  it  known  to  you  all,  that  I  have  dedicated 
my  life  to  the  service  of  God,  to  govern  my  kingdom 
with  equity,  and  to  observe  justice  in  all  things.  If,  by 
the  violence  and  negligence  of  youth,  I  have  violated 
justice  heretofore,  it  is  my  intention,  with  the  help  of 
God,  to  make  full  compensation.  Therefore  I  beg  and 
command  those  to  whom  I  have  confided  the  govern- 
ment, as  they  wish  to  preserve  my  friendship,  or  save 
their  own  souls,  to  do  no  injustice,  either  to  rich  or 
poor.  Let  all  persons,  whether  noble  or  ignoble,  ob- 
tain their  rights  according  to  law  ;  from  which  no  de- 
viation shall  be  allowed,  either  from  fear  of  me  or 
through  favor  to  the  powerful,  or  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  my  treasury.  I  have  no  need  of  money 
raised  by  injustice." 


VIII. — 10 


110  SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST. 


Saxons. 


In  the  eleventh  century,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  origin- 
ally the  fiercest  nation  of  the  North  of  Europe,  had 
become  changed  into  a  submissive  and  unwarlike  peo- 
ple by  the  combined  influences  of  luxury,  a  great 
landed  aristocracy,  and  a  richly  endowed  hierarchy. 
Their  sovereigns  had  become  men  of  feeble  minds; 
their  nobles  were  factious  and  efleminate  ;  the  clergy 
corrupt  and  ignorant,  and  the  people  servile  and  de- 
pressed. All  the  venerated  forms  of  the  Saxon  insti- 
tutions existed,  but  their  spirit  had  evaporated.  Their 
towns  were  increasing  in  population  ;  their  freedmen 
were  multiplying  ;  and  their  lands  were  subject  to  the 
ferd^  or  mihtary  expedition,  an  effective  obligation  for 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN.  Ill 

the  national  defence.  But,  amid  all  these  means  of 
prosperity,  an  intellectual  torpidity  had,  since  the  days 
of  Athelstan,  pervaded  the  country.  Canute  had,  in- 
deed, impressed  a  new  feature  of  grandeur  and  energy 
on  the  aspect  of  the  court,  but  his  example  was  solitary 
and  its  effect  transient.  His  children  and  successors 
disgraced  his  name  ;  and  after  his  death  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  sunk  into  a  lethargic  and  sensual  state.  Eng- 
land was  slumbering  in  this  decline,  when  the  Norman 
Conquest,  like  a  moral  earthquake,  suddenly  shook  it 
to  the  centre,  broke  up  and  hurled  into  ruin  all  its  an- 
cient aristocracy,  swept  away  the  native  proprietors 
of  the  soil,  overturned  the  corrupt  habits  of  the  popu- 
lation, kindled  a  vigorous  spirit  of  life  and  action  in 
all  classes  of  society,  and  raised  from  the  mighty 
ruins  with  which  it  overspread  the  country  an  entirely 
new  character  of  government. 

William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  was  the  leader  of  this 
great  enterprise.  Personal  resentment  concurred  with 
ambition  to  stimulate  him  to  the  invasion  of  England. 
He  claimed  the  crown  by  legal  right,  on  the  death  of 
Edward  the  Confessor  ;  but  Harold,  Duke  of  North- 
umberland, violating  his  oath,  had  possessed  himself  of 
the  throne.  William  determined  to  resort  to  arms  to 
enforce  his  claim.  He  applied  to  the  Pope  to  sanction 
his  undertaking.  The  Pope  sent  him  a  consecrated 
flag,  and  a  bull  authorizing  the  descent  upon  England, 
in  the  year  1066. 

William  published  his  war-ban  in  the  countries  ad- 
jacent. He  offered  a  large  sum  of  money  and  the 
pillage  of  England,  to  every  man  of  tall  and  robust 
stature  who  would  serve  either  with  the  lance,  the 


112 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


sword,  or  the  crossbow ;  and  a  multitude  poured  in  from 
all  parts,  from  far  and  near,  from  north  and  from  south, 
from  Maine  and  from  Anjou,  from  Poitou  and  from 
Brittany,  from  Flanders,  from  Aquitaine,  and  from 
Burgundy,  from  Piedmont,  and  the  borders  of  the 
Rhine.  All  the  adventurers  by  profession,  all  the 
brave  and  vagabond  spirits  of  Europe,  came  eagerly 
at  his  call.  Some  were  knights,  and  captains  of  war  ; 
others  simple  foot  soldiers,  and  "  servants  at  arms,"  — 
such  was  the  phrase  of  the  time.  Some  demanded 
money  in  hand,  others  were  content  with  their  passage, 
and  all  the  booty  they  could  gain.  Many  wished  for 
an  estate  in  England,  a  domain,  a  castle,  a  town ; 
while  others  simply  bargained  for  a  Saxon  wife.  Wil- 
liam refused  no  one ;  and  during  the  spring  and  the 
summer,  in  all  parts  of  Normandy,  workmen  of  every 
kind  were  employed  in  building  and  equipping  vessels. 

Dunng  these  preparations,  William  presented  him- 
self, at  St.  Germain,  before  Philip,  king  of  France,  and, 
saluting  him  with  a  deference  which  his  ancestors  had 
not  always  paid  to  their  sovereigns,  "  You  are  my 
seigneur,"  said  he  ;  "  if  it  please  you  to  aid  me,  and 
that  God  give  me  grace  to  obtain  my  right  in  England, 
I  promise  to  do  you  homage  for  that  realm,  as  if  I  held 
it  of  you."  Philip  assembled  his  council  of  barons 
and  freemen,  without  whom  he  could  decide  no  im- 
portant affair.  The  barons  were  of  opinion  that  he 
could  in  no  wise  aid  William  in  his  conquest.  "  You 
know,"  said  they  to  their  king,  "  how  little  the  Nor- 
mans obey  you  now,  —  they  will  obey  you  less,  if  they 
possess  England.  Besides,  it  will  be  a  great  expense 
to  aid  the  Duke  in  his  enterprise  ;  and,  if  it  fail,  we 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


113 


shall  have  the  English  for  our  mortal  enemies."  Wil- 
liam, thus  repulsed,  retired  in  discontent  from  Philip. 

The  rendezvous  for  the  vessels  and  men-at-arms 
was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dive,  a  river  which  falls  into 
the  sea  between  the  Seine  and  the  Orne.  For  a 
month  the  winds  were  contrary,  and  the  Norman  fleet 
was  detained  in  the  harbour.  At  length  a  southern 
breeze  carried  it  to  St.  Valery  near  Dieppe.  Then  the 
bad  weather  recommenced,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
cast  anchor,  and  wait  several  days.  During  this  time 
the  tempest  shattered  several  vessels,  and  many  of 
their  crews  perished.  At  this  accident,  murmurings 
arose  among  the  troops  already  fatigued  with  their  long 
delay.  The  soldiers,  idle  in  their  tents,  passed  the 
day  in  conversing  upon  the  dangers  of  the  voyage,  and 
the  difficulties  of  the  enterprise  they  had  undertaken. 
"  There  has  yet  been  no  battle,"  said  they,  "  and  al- 
ready several  of  our  companions  are  no  more  !  "  Then 
they  fell  to  examining  and  calculating  the  number  of 
dead  bodies  which  the  sea  had  thrown  upon  the  shore. 
These  sights  abated  the  ardor  of  the  adventurers  who 
had  enlisted  with  so  much  zeal,  and  some  broke  their 
engagement  and  retired.  "  Very  foolish,"  said  the 
soldiers,  "  very  foolish  is  the  man  who  pretends  to 
conquer  another's  land  ;  God  is  offended  at  such  de- 
signs, and  now  he  shows  his  anger  by  refusing  us  a 
favorable  wind !  "  At  last,  perhaps  from  real  super- 
stition, perhaps  for  the  mere  purpose  of  diverting 
their  followers  from  unwelcome  thoughts,  the  Norman 
chiefs  conducted  the  relics  of  St.  Valery  in  great  pomp, 
and  with  a  long  procession,  through  the  camp.  All  the 
8  10* 


114 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


army  began  to  pray,  and  the  following  night  the  wind 
sprang  up  just  as  they  had  been  desiring. 

Four  hundred  ships,  and  upwards  of  one  thousand 
transport  boats,  left  the  shore  at  the  same  signal.  Wil- 
liam's ship  took  the  lead,  and  carried  at  its  mast-head 
the  banner  sent  from  the  Pope.  The  sails  were  of  di- 
vers colors,  and  on  many  parts  of  them  were  painted 
the  three  lions,  the  arms  of  the  Normans.  At  the 
prow  was  carved  the  figure  of  a  child  carrying  a  bend- 
ed bow  with  an  arrow  ready  to  fly.  This  vessel,  a 
better  sailer  than  the  rest,  headed  the  expedition  during 
the  day,  and  at  night  was  far  in  the  advance.  On  the 
following  morning,  the  Duke  bade  a  sailor  climb  to  the 
top  of  the  mainmast  and  see  if  there  w^ere  any  other 
vessels  coming.  "  I  only  see,"  said  the  sailor,  "  the 
sky  and  the  ocean,"  —  and  thereupon  the  anchor  was 
cast.  The  Duke  affected  gayety,  in  order  to  put  down 
any  appearance  of  care  or  fear  among  his  friends  ;  he 
ordered  a  sumptuous  repast,  and  wines  highly  spiced. 
Presently  the  sailor  mounted  again ;  and  this  time  he 
said  he  saw  four  vessels  ;  and  directly  after  he  cried, 
"  I  see  a  forest  of  masts  and  sails." 

William  landed  his  army  at  Pevensey  in  Sussex.  — 
The  news  of  the  descent  of  the  Normans  was  quick- 
ly brought  to  Harold,  who  was  in  the  North  of  Eng- 
land, engaged  in  repelling  an  incursion  of  the  Norwe- 
gians, and  did  not  expect  this  invasion  till  the  following 
spring.  He  immediately  abandoned  his  enterprise  in 
the  North,  and  marched  to  give  these  new  enemies 
battle.  He  proceeded  by  hasty  marches  to  London, 
where  the  Duke  sent  ambassadors  to  him,  requiring  him 
to  resign  the  crown.   He  was  so  inflamed  at  the  haugh- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN.  115 

tiness  of  this  proceeding,  that  he  could  hardly  be  re- 
strained from  ill  treating  the  ambassadors.  He  replied 
by  a  menacing  and  insulting  message,  and,  having 
drawn  all  his  forces  together,  encamped  about  nine 
miles  from  the  Normans.  Whilst  the  two  armies  lay 
thus  near  one  another,  spies  were  continually  sent  out 
on  both  sides,  each  leader  being  desirous  of  knowing 
the  strength  and  position  of  his  enemy. 

Whilst  they  were  preparing  for  a  conflict,  which  was 
to  decide  the  fate  of  both  princes,  Duke  William  seem- 
ed to  abate  something  of  his  haughtiness.  The  thoughts 
of  a  battle  in  an  enemy's  country,  where  his  loss  would 
be  irretrievable,  inspired  him  with  some  dread  of  the 
event.  On  the  other  hand,  he  could  not  help  reflecting 
on  the  blood  that  was  about  to  be  shed  in  a  quarrel,  the 
justice  of  which  was  not  quite  apparent.  He  sent 
Harold,  by  the  hands  of  a  certain  monk,  these  four 
proposals,  of  which  he  might  take  his  choice.  The 
first  was,  to  resign  the  crown,  as  he  was  bound  by  oath. 
By  the  second,  he  oflered  to  return  into  Normandy, 
provided  Harold  would  do  him  homage  for  the  kingdom 
of  England.  By  the  third,  he  oflered  to  refer  the 
quarrel  to  the  Pope.  Lastly,  he  proposed  to  decide 
the  dispute  by  single  combat.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
Harold  rejected  these  proposals,  seeing  they  were 
all  advantageous  to  the  Duke.  His  answer  therefore 
was,  God  should  determine,  on  the  morrow,  the  justice 
of  their  respective  claims. 

The  English  spent  the  whole  night  in  carousing  and 
singing,  as  if  they  were  sure  of  the  victory.  The 
Normans,  on  the  contrary,  were  employed  in  prepar- 
ing for  the  battle,  and  in  offering  up  prayers  for  success. 


116 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


At  length,  on  the  14th  of  October,  1066,  Harold's 
birthday,  the  two  armies  engaged.  In  the  front  of 
the  English  stood  the  Kentish  men,  a  privilege  which 
they  had  enjoyed  ever  since  the  Heptarchy.  Harold 
placed  himself  in  the  centre,  and  fought  on  foot,  that 
his  men  might  be  the  more  encouraged  by  seeing  their 
king  sharing  the  danger  of  the  meanest  soldier.  The 
Normans  began  the  fight  with  a  volley  of  arrows, 
which,  being  shot  upwards,  flew  like  a  thick  cloud  over 
the  heads  of  the  foremost  body  of  the  English.  As  their 
ranks  were  close,  the  arrows  in  falling  did  great  exe- 
cution. The  English,  not  being  used  to  this  manner  of 
fighting,  were  at  first  thrown  into  disorder,  but  soon 
rallied,  and  gave  the  Normans  so  warm  a  reception, 
that  they  were  obliged  to  draw  back  and  take  breath. 
Quickly  after,  they  renewed  the  attack,  but  met  with 
as  brave  a  resistance  as  before.  The  presence  of  their 
leaders  animating  the  soldiers,  they  everywhere  fought 
with  equal  bravery,  without  the  least  signs  of  advan- 
tage on  either  side.  We  may  judge  of  the  valor  of 
both  armies  by  the  length  of  the  battle,  which  began 
at  seven  in  the  morning,  and  lasted  till  night. 

The  event  was  yet  very  uncertain,  when  Duke 
William  bethought  himself  of  a  stratagem.  Perceiv- 
ing there  was  no  breaking  tlie  ranks  of  the  English, 
he  ordered  his  troops  to  retreat  as  they  fought,  as  if 
they  were  discouraged,  but  to  be  very  careful  to  keep 
their  ranks.  This  order  being  executed,  the  English 
thought  their  enemies  defeated.  They  set  up  a  great 
shout,  and  pressed  eagerly  onward.  In  the  hurry  of 
the  pursuit,  they  broke  their  ranks,  when  the  Normans 
instantly  turned  upon  them,  and  put  them  to  the  rout. 


HISTORY   OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


117 


Harold,  seeing  the  victory  on  the  point  of  being 
snatched  from  his  hands,  raUied  the  fugitives,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  collecting  a  considerable  body,  with  which 
he  made  an  obstinate  stand  upon  a  rising  ground  in  the 
neighbourhood.  The  Normans  made  another  des- 
perate attack,  and  Harold  was  shot  through  the  brain 
with  an  arrow.  This  loss  completed  the  rout  of  the 
Saxons,  who  gave  way,  and  fled  in  every  direction. 
The  victory  of  William  was  complete  ;  fifteen  thousand 
of  his  men  had  fallen,  but  the  vanquished  lost  a  still 
greater  number,  as  no  quarter  was  given  either  during 
the  battle,  or  in  the  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  Such 
was  the  issue  of  the  celebrated  battle  of  Hastings,  the 
most  important  in  its  consequences  that  was  ever 
fought  in  England.  The  whole  realm  immediately 
submitted  to  the  conqueror. 

William  reigned  over  England  more  than  twenty 
years.  Under  his  administration,  the  government  of  the 
kingdom,  the  laws,  the  language,  and  the  national  char- 
acter underwent  an  important  change.  By  this  con- 
quest, and  the  rebellions  which  followed,  almost  all  the 
Anglo-Saxon  nobility  were  driven  into  exile,  or  dis- 
possessed of  their  territories,  and  the  greater  part  of 
all  the  landed  property  of  England  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  king,  who  rewarded  his  followers  for  their  ser- 
vices, by  granting  them  the  domains  which  he  had 
seized  or  confiscated.  He  made  military  service  the 
indispensable  condition  of  these  donations,  and  thus  the 
feudal  system  became  established  to  the  full  extent  in 
England.  It  was  his  early  and  constant  policy  to 
secure  the  submission  of  the  country  by  building  cas- 
tles in  every  part,  and  committing  them,  with  grants  of 


118 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


land,  to  warlike  chieftains,  on  whose  fidelity  and  activity- 
he  could  rely.  This  system,  while  it  completed  the 
conquest  of  the  island,  also  filled  it  with  a  new  military 
aristocracy,  vigorous  from  its  youth,  formidable  in  its 
means  of  defence  to  effect  the  purpose  of  its  estabUsh- 
ment,  and  independent,  in  its  own  domains,  of  the 
crown,  by  the  ancient  laws  and  customs  of  the  country. 
It  was  an  important  peculiarity  of  the  Norman  con- 
quest, that,  though  it  changed  the  individual  persons  of 
the  proprietary  body  of  England,  it  left  many  of  its 
civil  institutions  undestroyed,  or  changed  only  in  name. 
The  Wittenagemote  still  survived  under  the  appellation 
of  parliament.  The  Norman  conquest  was  no  abridg- 
ment of  the  liberties  of  England ;  on  the  contrary,  it 
established  a  powerful  and  active  aristocracy,  which 
was  strong  enough,  at  times,  to  give  the  law  to  the 
sovereign.  It  promoted  the  emancipation  of  the  ser- 
vile, and  protected  the  privileges  of  the  free. 

The  great  benefit  derived  by  England  from  the 
Norman  conquest  was  the  new  vigor  and  spirit  which 
it  gave  to  the  national  mind.  The  torpor,  debility, 
and  degradation  of  sensuality  and  sloth,  —  without  litera- 
ture, arts,  or  laudable  pursuits ;  and  the  factions  and 
vices  of  a  corrupted  aristocracy  and  debased  clergy, 
had  enervated  the  Anglo-Saxon  intellect.  By  the  con- 
quest, a  new  race  of  men  was  spread  over  the  whole 
kingdom,  with  a  peculiar  principle  inspiring  the  emu- 
lation of  every  one.  This  was  that  love  of  glory, 
which  made  every  Norman  restless  till  he  had  acquired 
personal  improvement  and  distinction.  The  wealth 
and  situation  of  England  opened  new  avenues  to  fame, 
and  drew  from  all  parts  of  Europe  the  most  aspiring, 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


119 


and  the  most  able  men  to  enter  the  lists  for  honor  and 
profit.  A  new  creative  vigor  appeared  afterward  in 
every  field  of  human  merit.  Activity  and  enterprise 
became  the  characteristic  qualities  of  the  nation ;  and 
the  different  classes,  attaching  themselves  to  various 
pursuits,  infused  the  spirit,  and  enlarged  the  boundaries, 
of  improvement  in  all.  In  war,  in  religion,  literature, 
trade,  and  amusements,  the  Anglo-Normans  became 
equally  active  and  indefatigable. 

The  intermixture  of  the  Norman-French  with  the 
Anglo-Saxon  tongue  formed  the  modern  English  lan- 
guage, superior  to  either  of  its  parents  m  copiousness, 
energy,  and  expression.  William  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  have  established  the  coever-fu^  or  curfew,  by 
which,  on  the  ringing  of  a  bell  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  all  fires  were  commanded  to  be  put  out.  Its 
original  design  is  said  to  have  been  to  prevent  nightly 
meetings  for  conspiracies.  A  more  important  under- 
taking, by  which  the  Conqueror  has  left  a  memorial  of 
his  reign  to  the  present  generation,  was  the  compi- 
lation of  the  Domesday  Book.  This  was  the  greatest 
financial  operation  of  his  life.  It  was  a  general  in- 
quest and  survey,  taken  throughout  the  country,  of  the 
quantity  of  lands  chargeable  with  military  service  ;  with 
a  record  of  the  great  proprietors,  the  servile  population, 
and  established  payments.  It  was  designed  to  ascertain 
the  legal  rights  of  the  crown,  and  to  afford  a  knowledge 
of  the  state  of  the  property  of  the  country.  The  facts 
required  were,  for  the  most  part,  verified  by  the  oaths 
of  a  competent  number  of  persons  in  each  district. 
The  original  of  the  record  thus  formed  is  still  pre- 
served in  the  Exchequer  at  London. 


King  John  signing  Magna  Charla. 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


121 


MAGNA  CHARTA. 

The  despotism  of  William  the  Conqueror,  and  the 
feudal  customs  established  by  him  in  England,  resulted 
at  times  in  the  grossest  abuses  in  government,  by  which 
both  the  barons  and  the  people  found  themselves  op- 
pressed to  an  intolerable  degree.  The  line  had  not 
yet  been  drawn  between  the  prerogatives  of  the  crow^n 
and  the  rights  of  the  people  ;  both  remained  in  the 
undefined  state  of  prescription  and  tradition.  In  all 
the  Northern  nations,  great  councils  had  been  attached 
to  their  monarchies  from  the  early  period  when  they 
emerged  from  the  forests  of  Germany ;  and  the  ruling 
chief,  combined  with  his  council,  offers  us  an  image 
of  government  in  one  of  its  rudest  forms.  The  de- 
struction of  the  Anglo-Saxon  nobility,  in  their  revolts 
against  William,  had  deprived  the  country  of  the 
actual  members  of  the  ancient  Wittenagemotes,  but  did 
not  put  an  end  to  the  institution  itself.  The  Norman 
barons  held  themselves,  to  be  as  independent  as  the 
Saxon  chiefs,  and  they  surrounded  their  sovereign  in 
the  national  council,  after  the  Conquest,  in  the  same 
manner  as  before. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  royal  privileges,  being  still 
undefined,  were  often  stretched  into  unlimited  use, 
varying  in  their  extent  according  to  the  ambition  and 
arbitrary  spirit  of  the  reigning  prince.  A  wise  mon- 
arch will  never  push  his  prerogative  to  extremes  that 
may  provoke  his  people  to  question  its  justice. 
Weaker  princes,  on  the  contrary,  from  a  childish  love 
of  all  the  external  marks  of  power,  are  fond  of  ob- 

VIII.— 11 


122 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


trading  their  authority  on  every  occasion,  and  thus 
perpetually  hazard  their  prerogatives  by  abusing  them. 
King  John,  the  successor  of  Richard  the  Lion-hearted, 
was  a  sovereign  *of  this  character,  and,,  by  a  series  of 
obstinate  attempts  to  rule  by  his  arbitrary  will,  instead  of 
by  law  and  justice,  he  brought  the  power  of  the  crown 
into  direct  collision  with  the  nobility,  which  then  con- 
stituted the  most  efficient  part  of  the  nation.  To  this 
collision  is  to  be  traced  the  origin  of  the  celebrated 
Magna  Charta,  or  the  Great  Charter,  famous  in  modern 
history,  as  the  basis  on  which  are  founded  the  liberties 
of  the  English  nation. 

The  reign  of  John  had  already  been  marked  by  a 
succession  of  misfortunes  and  disgraces,  originating 
in  the  vices  and  imbecility  of  the  sovereign.  His 
conduct  toward  his  brother  Richard  was  ungrateful 
and  perfidious,  and  he  displayed  all  the  treachery  of 
a  tortuous  ambition,  without  any  of  the  talents  which 
have  sometimes  attended  it.  By  the  murder  of  Prince 
Arthur  he  lost  Normandy ;  and  as  messenger  after 
messenger  announced  to  him  the  capture  of  his  castles 
and  towns  by  Philip  of  France,  he  only  exclaimed,  with 
a  coarse  laugh,  "  Let  him  take  them,  I  will  get  them 
back  some  time  or  other."  By  the  loss  of  his  French 
territories  he  obtained  the  opprobrious  nickname  of 
"  Lackland."  He  next  involved  himself  in  a  quarrel 
with  the  Pope,  and,  to  escape  from  his  difficulties,  made 
a  formal  cession  of  his  crown  to  that  prelate,  and  con- 
sented to  receive  it  back  as  a  gift.  This  transaction 
caused  such  disgust  to  the  nation,  that  it  proved,  in  the 
end,  one  of  the  main  causes  of  the  overthrow  of  the 
papal  power  in  England.    The  vices  and  defects  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


123 


John's  character  seemed  destined  to  be  the  instruments 
of  much  ultimate  good  to  his  subjects. 

The  king,  who  could  learn  no  wisdom  from  experi- 
ence, became  more  violent  in  his  measures  to  enforce 
obedience  to  his  arbitrary  will,  in  proportion  as  he 
found  the  temper  of  the  people  exasperated  by  his  mis- 
conduct. At  length  he  spurned  all  laws,  in  the  pursuit 
of  his  revenge,  and  forced  the  barons  upon  extraordi- 
nary measures  for  their  own  protection  and  defence. 
On  the  20th  of  November,  1214,  they  assembled  at  the 
abbey  of  St.  Edmunds,  under  pretence  of  celebrating 
the  festival  of  the  patron  saint,  but  with  the  real  object 
of  maturing  a  plan  of  future  operations  without  awak- 
ening suspicion.  Many  secret  conferences  were  held ; 
the  various  liberties  for  which  they  were  to  contend 
were  agreed  upon  and  defined,  and  they  determined  to 
go  in  a  body  and  demand  them  when  the  king  should 
hold  his  court  on  the  next  Christmas.  Before  they 
separated,  they  advanced  singly  to  the  high  altar,  and 
swore  an  oath  to  withdraw  their  allegiance  from  the 
king  in  case  he  should  resist  their  claims,  and  to  levy 
war  against  him  till  he  should  grant  them.  On  Christ- 
mas the  barons  had  no  opportunity  to  put  their  scheme 
m  execution.  John,  who  was  holding  his  court  at 
Worcester,  having  perhaps  received  intelligence  of  the 
design,  suddenly  left  the  place,  rode  to  London,  and 
shut  himself  up  in  the  Temple.  The  confederates 
followed  him  in  great  numbers,  and  on  the  feast  of 
Epiphany  presented  their  demands.  The  king  at 
first  assumed  an  air  of  superiority,  and  insisted  not 
only  that  they  should  recede  from  their  claims,  but 
that  they  should  assure  him,  under  hand  and  seal,  that 


124 


SKETCHES  FROM  TH^ 


they  would  never  present  them  again.  Two  or  three 
were  intimidated  and  gave  their  consent,  but  all  the 
rest  obstinately  refused. 

John  now  attempted  a  temporizing  policy,  and  put  off 
the  barons  with  a  promise  to  satisfy  them  at  the  ap- 
proaching Easter.  In  the  interval  he  attempted  to 
strengthen  his  hands  by  securing  the  clergy.  He 
granted  them  various  privileges,  assumed  the  cross, 
and  made  a  vow  to  go  upon  a  crusade.  Meantime  the 
Pope,  being  solicited  to  interfere  by  both  parties,  took 
sides  in  favor  of  the  king,  annulled  the  confederacy 
of  the*  barons,  and  pronounced  an  excommunication 
against  all  who  should  engage  in  any  similar  combina- 
tion for  the  future.  In  Easter  week,  the  barons  assem- 
bled at  Stamford,  and  with  two  thousand  knights,  their 
esquires  and.  followers,  marched  to  Brackley.  The 
king  was  at  Oxford,  and  commissioned  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  and  the  Earls  of  Pembroke  and  Warenne 
to  go  and  ascertain  their  demands.  They  brought  him 
back  a  paper  containing  the  same  articles  as  before. 
As  soon  as  it  was  read,  he  exclaimed,  "  They  might  as 
well  demand  my  crown  !  Do  they  think  I  will  grant 
them  liberties  which  will  make  me  a  slave  ?  " 

Hostilities  soon  followed.  The  barons  proclaimed 
themselves  "  the  army  of  God  and  his  Holy  Church," 
and  elected  Robert  Fitz-Walter  for  their  commander. 
They  immediately  invested  Northampton,  a  strong 
place  garrisoned  by  a  body  of  foreigners.  After  a  fort- 
night's siege,  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  the  enter- 
prise for  want  of  military  engines.  At  Bedford  they  were 
more  fortunate  ;  the  governor  opened  the  gates,  and,  at 
the  moment  of  taking  possession  of  the  town,  an  invi- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


125 


fation  to  proceed  thither  was  received  from  some  of  the 
principal  citizens  of  London.  They  marched  imme- 
diately to  the  capital,  without  halting,  and  reached  the 
city  early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  May.  The 
day  being  Sunday,  the  inhabitants  were  in  the  churches, 
and  the  gates  stood  open.  No  resistance  was  offered, 
and  the  army  of  the  confederates  took  possession  of 
London.  Elated  with  this  important  success,  they  sent 
letters  to  the  barons  and  knights  who  had  not  yet  de- 
clared themselves,  stating  their  objects  and  resources, 
and  their  determination  to  treat  as  enemies  all  who  did 
not  join  the  army  of  God  and  of  the  Holy  Church. 
This  produced  the  most  decisive  effect. 

Disheartened  by  these  occurrences,  John  found  him- 
self compelled  to  submit.  He  assumed  an  air  of 
cheerfulness,  and  declared  his  willingness  to  settle  with 
the  barons  on  amicable  terms.  He  desired  them  to 
name  a  day  and  a  place  for  a  conference,  where  the 
terms  of  a  treaty  might  be  discussed.  They  fixed  upon 
a  spot  called  Runnimede,  or  Running- Mead,  a  meadow 
between  Staines  and  Windsor.  At  this  place,  ever 
memorable  in  the  history  of  English  liberties,  both 
parties  met  on  the  15th  of  June,  1215.  The  barons 
assembled  in  such  numbers  that  they  seemed  to  com- 
prise the  whole  nobility  of  England.  The  parties  took 
their  separate  stations.  On  the  one  side  sat  the  king, 
accompanied  by  eight  bishops,  the  Pope's  envoy,  Pan- 
dulf,  and  fifteen  gentlemen  who  attended  as  his  confi- 
dential advisers,  although  the  disaffection  of  some  of 
them  was  notorious.  On  the  other  side  stood  the  great 
body  of  the  barons,  drawn  up  in  imposing  array,  with 
Fitz-Walter  at  their  head.  After  a  long  discussion,  the 
11* 


126 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


demands  of  the  barons  were  formally  written  down, 
and  Magna  Charta  was  signed. 

A  condensed  view  of  this  important  instrument  will 
show  the  state  of  the  government  under  the  previous 
reigns.  The  royal  sway  must  have  been  arbitrary  in 
the  extreme,  when  the  subjects  were  driven  to  extort 
by  force  of  arms  political  rights  of  the  following  char- 
acter. 

"  No  taxation  shall  be  imposed  but  by  parliament, 
except  in  three  specified  cases,  and  in  these  the  amount 
shall  be  reasonable. 

"  No  freeman  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned,  or  dispos- 
sessed of  his  land,  or  outlawed,  or  banished,  or  in  any 
way  destroyed  or  oppressed  by  the  crown,  except  by 
the  legal  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  the  law  of  the  land. 

"  The  king  shall  not  sell  justice,  nor  deny  nor 
delay  right  or  justice  to  any  one. 

"  No  bailiff  shall  arrest  or  imprison  any  man  upon  a 
mere  complaint,  without  faithful  witnesses  to  substan- 
tiate it. 

The  city  of  London,  and  all  other  cities,  burghs,  and 
towns,  shall  have  all  their  ancient  liberties  and  free 
customs. 

"  No  man  shall  be  compelled  to  do  more  military 
service  than  he  owes. 

"  No  widow  shall  be  compelled  to  marry,  so  long 
as  she  wishes  to  live  without  a  husband  ;  provided 
she  gives  surety  that  she  will  not  marry  without  the 
king's  consent,  if  she  holds  her  lands  of  him,  or  the 
consent  of  the  lord,  if  she  holds  lands  of  any. 

"  No  goods  shall  be  distrained  while  the  debtor  is 
able  to  pay. 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


127 


"  Lands  shall  not  be  seized  for  debt,  if  there  are 
goods  sufficient. 

"  There  shall  be  one  measure  and  one  weight 
throughout  the  kingdom. 

"  Merchants  may  safely  visit  England,  travel  through 
the  country  to  buy  and  sell,  according  to  the  ancient 
customs,  and  return  home. 

Any  Englishman  may  leave  the  realm  and  return, 
preserving  his  allegiance. 

"  Every  widow  shall  have  her  jointure  and  dower. 
'  "  The  courts  of  common  pkas  shall  not  follow  the 
king,  but  shall  be  held  in  some  certain  place.  Courts 
of  assize  shall  be  held  four  times  a  year." 

A  general  joy  spread  through  the  kingdom  on  the 
publication  of  the  Great  Charter.  "  England,"  says 
Matthew  Paris,  "  seemed  delivered  from  an  Egyptian 
yoke,  and  the  people  believed  that  the  king's  stony 
heart  was  softened."  But  the  Charter,  although  equit- 
able, conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation,  and 
perfectly  compatible  with  every  dignified  and  useful 
prerogative  of  the  sovereign,  was  unpalatable  to  John, 
because  it  restricted  his  capricious  humors  and  arbi- 
trary will.  Resentment  and  mortification  soon  exas- 
perated him  into  extravagances  of  behaviour  which 
bordered  upon  insanity.  He  began  to  execrate  his 
mother  and  the  day  of  his  birth.  He  would  gnash  his 
teeth,  stare  wildly  about  him,  seize  clubs  and  sticks 
of  wood,  gnaw  them,  break  them  in  pieces,  and  prac- 
tise other  unaccountable  freaks.  On  the  night  which 
followed  the  signature  of  the  Charter,  he  sent  private 
letters  to  all  the  governors  of  his  castles,  who  were 
foreigners,  ordering  them  to  provision  their  fortresses, 


128 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


make  arrows,  and  prepare  their  military  engines ;  but 
privately  and  cautiously,  that  the  barons  might  not  dis- 
cover it. 

The  report  of  these  proceedings  reached  the  barons, 
and  they  inquired  of  the  king  what  he  meant.  He 
made  oath  that  he  designed  no  hostility ;  and  the  rude 
horse-laughs,  with  which  he  accompanied  his  assevera- 
tions, seemed  more  like  folly  than  malice.  Half  ap- 
peased, and  half  mistrusting,  they  withdrew  ;  and  the 
king,  suddenly,  on  the  following  day,  at  dawn,  set 
off  for  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  he  hid  himself,  brood- 
ing over  plans  of  revenge.  Here  he  passed  three 
months  among  the  fishermen  and  sailors,  amusing  him- 
self with  piratical  attacks  upon  the  vessels  which  ap- 
proached the  coast.  His  subjects,  in  the  mean  time, 
were  wholly  ignorant  what  had  become  of  him,  and 
debated  whether  he  had  turned  fisherman  or  freebooter. 
One  part  of  his  employment,  in  this  concealment,  was 
to  invite  needy  adventurers  from  the  continent  to  come 
over  to  him.  He  also  sent  ambassadors  to  Rome  to 
solicit  the  papal  condemnation  of  the  Charter.  The 
Pope  annulled  the  Charter,  suspended  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  and  excommuniated  the  barons. 

John  at  length  emerged  from  his  concealment,  and 
proceeded  to  Dover  to  meet  his  auxiliaries,  who,  en- 
ticed by  the  hope  of  large  donations  and  confiscations, 
had  come  over  in  great  numbers  from  France  and  the 
Netherlands,  many  of  them  bringing  their  families,  as 
if  sure  of  settling  in  England.  At  the  head  of  this 
army  of  mercenaries,  John  advanced  to  Nottingham, 
plundering,  on  his  march,  the  baronial  possessions,  and 
detaching  parties  in  all  directions  to  ravage  the  country 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN.  129 

The  barons  were  now  in  a  most  critical  situation,  under 
the  ban  of  the  Pope,  and  with  an  army  of  desperadoes 
arrayed  against  them.  But,  with  invincible  courage, 
they  determined  to  defend  to  the  last  extremity  a  cause 
which  concerned  not  only  the  liberties  of  England, 
but  their  own  hves  and  fortunes.  They  agreed  to 
choose  Louis,  the  son  of  the  king  of  France,  for  their 
king,  and,  with  his  assistance,  to  maintain  the  contest 
against  John.  The  papal  legate  forbade  Louis  to  enter 
England  ;  but  the  olFer  of  a  crown  was  too  tempting, 
and  he  sailed  from  Calais  with  six  hundred  and  eighty 
ships  well  furnished  with  troops.  He  landed  at  the 
Isle  of  Thanet,  took  Rochester,  and  marched  to  Lon- 
don, where  the  barons  received  him  with  acclamations. 
Nearly  all  the  southern  counties  of  England  were  soon 
reduced,  and  John's  forces  maintained  themselves  in 
the  North,  where  they  were  distressed  by  an  invasion 
of  the  Scots.  The  country  now  suffered  all  the  deso- 
lations of  a  civil  war,  when  it  was  happily  released 
from  its  calamities  by  the  death  of  the  king.  Having 
made  an  intemperate  meal  of  peaches  and  new  ale,  he 
fell  into  a  dysentery,  of  which  he  died  at  Newark,  on 
the  19th  of  October,  1216. 

His  successor,  Henry  the  Third,  confirmed  the  Great 
Charter,  and  it  has  remained,  ever  since,  the  foundation- 
stone  of  the  English  Constitution. 


9 


130  SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


THE  GUNPOWDER  PLOT. 


Guy  Fawhes  and  his  Associates. 


One  of  the  most  extraordinary  events  in  the  history 
of  England  is  that  commonly  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Gunpowder  Treason  and  Plot ;  in  which  case  the  king 
and  parliament  of  England  had  a  narrow  escape,  by  a 
singular  accident,  from  a  most  diabolical  scheme  of 
destruction.  This  plot  was  the  work  of  a  small  num- 
ber of  fanatical  Roman  Catholics,  who  undertook  to 
wreak  their  revenge  on  James  the  First  and  his  gov- 
ernment for  not  showing  indulgence  to  their  religion. 
The  records  of  history  afford  few  instances  of  more 
daring  and  wanton  depravity. 

The  Catholics  had  expected  great  favor  and  indul- 
gence on  the  accession  of  James  the  First,  he  being  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


131 


son  of  Mary,  queen  of  Scots,  who  was  a  rigid  Roman- 
ist, and  having  himself  shown  some  partiahty  to  that 
religion  in  his  youth.  But  they  soon  discovered  their 
mistake,  and  were  at  once  surprised  and  enraged  to  find 
James  on  all  occasions  expressing  his  resolution  of  strict- 
ly executing  the  laws  enacted  against  them,  and  of  per- 
severing in  the  policy  of  his  predecessor.  These  decla- 
rations determined  them  upon  desperate  measures,  and 
they  at  length  formed  a  plan  to  destroy  the  king  and 
both  houses  of  parliament  at  a  blow.  The  scheme  was 
first  broached  by  Robert  Catesby,  a  gentleman  of  an  an- 
cient family  in  England,  who  conceived  that  a  train  of 
gunpowder  might  be  so  placed  under  the  parliament- 
house  as  to  blow  up  the  king  and  all  the  members  at 
once.  He  suggested  the  subject  to  Thomas  Percy, 
a  descendant  of  the  illustrious  house  of  Northum- 
berland, who  approved  the  project,  and  readily  joined 
in  it.  Thomas  Winter  was  next  intrusted  with  the 
dreadful  secret ;  and  he  went  over  to  Flanders  in  quest 
of  Guy  Fawkes,  an  officer  in  the  Spanish  service,  with 
whose  zeal  and  courage  the  conspirators  were  thorough- 
ly acquainted.  When  they  enlisted  any  new  zealot 
into  their  plot,  the  more  firmly  to  bind  him  to  secrecy, 
they  always  put  him  upon  oath,  employing  the  Eucha- 
rist, the  most  sacred  rite  of  religion,  to  enforce  it. 
Every  tender  feeling,  and  all  emotions  of  pity,  were 
banished  from  their  breasts ;  and  Desmond  and  Garnet, 
two  Jesuits,  superiors  of  the  order,  absolved  their  con- 
sciences from  every  scruple. 

How  horrid  soever  the  contrivance  might  appear,  yet 
every  member  of  the  league  seemed  faithful  and  secret ; 
and  about  two  months  before  the  sitting  of  parliament, 


\32 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


in  1605,  they  hired  a  house  in  Percy's  name,  adjoin- 
ing that  in  which  the  parliament  were  to  assemble. 
Their  first  intention  was  to  cut  a  passage  under  the 
parliament-house,  from  that  which  they  occupied,  and 
they  set  themselves  laboriously  to  the  task  ;  but  when 
they  had  pierced  the  wall,  which  was  three  yards  in 
thickness,  they  were  surprised  to  find  that  the  parlia- 
ment-house was  vaulted  underneath,  and  that  a  maga- 
zine of  coals  was  usually  kept  there.  From  their 
disappointment  on  this  account  they  were  soon  re- 
lieved by  information,  that  the  coals  were  then  selling 
off,  and  that,  after  their  removal,  the  vault  would  be 
let  to  the  highest  bidder.  They  therefore  seized  the 
opportunity  of  hiring  the  place,  and  bought  the  re- 
maining quantity  of  coals  then  stored  in  it.  The  next 
thing  was  to  carry  thither  thirty-six  barrels  of  gun- 
powder, which  had  been  purchased  in  Flolland ;  and 
the  whole  was  covered  with  the  coals,  and  with  fagots 
brought  for  that  purpose.  Then  the  doors  of  the 
cellar  were  boldly  flung  open,  and  everybody  was  ad- 
mitted, as  if  it  contained  nothing  dangerous. 

Confident  of  success,  they  now  began  to  settle  the 
remaining  part  of  their  project.  The  king,  the  queen, 
and  Prince  Henry,  the  king's  eldest  son,  were  all  ex- 
pected to  be  present  at  the  opening  of  the  parliament. 
The  king's  second  son,  by  reason  of  his  tender  age, 
would  be  absent,  and  it  was  resolved  that  Percy  should 
seize  or  assassinate  him.  The  Princess  Elizabeth,  like- 
wise a  child,  was  kept  at  Lord  Harrington's  house  in 
Warwickshire,  and  Sir  Everard  Digby  was  to  seize 
her,  and  immediately  proclaim  her  queen. 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


133 


The  5th  of  November,  the  day  for  the  sitting  of 
parliament,  now  approached.  Never  was  treason 
more  secret,  or  ruin,  apparently,  more  inevitable  ;  the 
hour  was  expected  with  impatience,  and  the  conspira- 
tors gloried  in  their  anticipated  triumph.  The  dreadful 
secret,  though  communicated  to  above  twenty  persons, 
had  been  religiously  kept  during  the  space  of  nearly  a 
year  and  a  half;  but,  when  all  the  motives  of  piety 
and  justice  were  too  weak,  a  feeling  of  private  friend- 
ship saved  the  kingdom.  Sir  Henry  Percy,  one  of  the 
conspirators,  conceived  the  design  of  saving  the  life 
of  Lord  Monteagle,  his  intimate  friend  and  companion, 
who  was  also  of  the  same  religion  with  himself. 
About  ten  days  before  the  meeting  of  parliament,  this 
nobleman,  upon  his  return  to  town,  received  a  letter 
from  a  person  unknown,  and  delivered  by  one  who 
fled  as  soon  as  he  had  done  his  message.  The  letter 
was  to  this  effect :  "  My  Lord,  stay  away  from  this 
parliament ;  for  God  and  man  have  concurred  to  punish 
the  wickedness  of  the  times.  And  think  not  slightly 
of  this  advertisement,  but  retire  yourself  into  your 
country,  where  you  may  expect  the  event  in  safety. 
For,  though  there  be  no  appearance  of  any  stir,  yet  I 
say  they  will  receive  a  terrible  blow  this  parliament, 
and  yet  they  shall  not  see  who  hurts  them.  This 
counsel  is  not  to  be  contemned,  because  it  may  do  you 
good,  and  can  do  you  no  harm  ;  for  the  danger  is 
past  as  soon  as  you  have  burned  the  letter." 

The  contents  of  this  mysterious  letter  surprised  the 
nobleman  to  whom  it  was  addressed  ;  and  though  in- 
clined to  think  it  a  foolish  attempt  to  frighten  and  ridi- 
cule him,  yet  he  judged  it  safest  to  carry  it  to  Lord 
VIII.— 12 


134 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


Salisbury,  secretary  of  state.  Lord  Salisbury,  too,  was 
inclined  to  give  little  attention  to  it,  yet  he  thought 
proper  to  lay  it  before  the  king  in  council.  None  of 
the  latter  were  able  to  make  any  thing  of  it,  although 
It  appeared  serious  and  alarming.  In  the  universal 
agitation  between  doubt  and  apprehension,  the  king 
was  the  first  who  penetrated  the  meaning  of  this  dark 
epistle.  He  concluded  that  some  sudden  danger  was 
preparing  by  gunpowder ;  and  it  was  thought  advisa- 
ble to  inspect  all  the  vaults  below  the  houses  of  parlia- 
ment. This  care  belonged  to  the  Earl  of  Suffolk, 
lord  chamberlain,  who  purposely  delayed  the  search 
till  the  day  before  the  meeting  of  parliament.  He  re- 
marked those  great  piles  of  fagots  which  lay  in  the 
vault  under  the  House  of  Peers  ;  and  he  cast  his  eye 
upon  Fawkes,  who  stood  in  a  dark  corner,  and  who 
passed  himself  off  as  Percy's  servant.  That  daring, 
determined  courage,  for  which  he  had  long  been  noted, 
was  fully  painted  in  his  countenance,  and  struck  the 
lord  chamberlain  with  strong  suspicion.  The  great 
quantity  of  fuel,  also,  kept  there  for  the  use  of  a  person 
who  seldom  visited  London,  did  not  pass  unnoticed ; 
and  he  resolved  to  make  a  more  exact  scrutiny.  About 
midnight,  therefoi'e.  Sir  Thomas  Knevet,  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  was  sent  with  proper  attendants,  and,  just  at  the 
entrance  of  the  vault,  he  seized  a  man  preparing  for 
the  terrible  enterprise,  dressed  in  a  cloak  and  boots, 
and  with  a  dark  lantern  in  his  hand.  This  was  no 
other  than  Giiy  Fawkes,  who  had  just  disposed  every 
part  of  the  train  for  setting  it  on  fire  the  next  morning, 
the  matches  and  other  combustibles  being  found  in  his 
pockets.    The  whole  of  the  design  was  now  discover- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


135 


ed  ;  but  the  atrociousness  of  his  guilt,  and  despair 
of  pardon,  inspiring  him  with  resolution,  he  told  the 
officers  of  justice,  with  an  undaunted  air,  that,  had  he 
blown  them  and  himself  up  together,  he  had  been 
happy.  Before  the  council,  he  displayed  the  same 
intrepid  firmness,  mixed  even  with  scorn  and  disdain  ; 
refusing  to  discover  his  associates,  and  showing  no  con- 
cern but  for  the  failure  of  his  enterprise.  But  his  bold 
spirit  was  at  length  subdued  ;  having  been  confined  to 
the  Tower  for  two  or  three  days,  and  the  rack  just 
shown  him,  his  courage,  fatigued  with  so  long  an  effort, 
at  last  failed  him,  and  he  made  a  full  discovery  of  all 
his  accomplices. 

Catesby,  Percy,  and  the  conspirators  who  were  in 
London,  hearing  that  Fawkes  was  arrested,  fled  with 
all  speed  to  Warwickshire,  where  Sir  Everard  Digby, 
relying  on  the  success  of  the  plot,  was  already  in  arms 
in  order  to  seize  the  Princess  Elizabeth.  But  the 
country  soon  took  the  alarm,  and  wherever  the  insur- 
gents turned  they  found  a  force  ready  to  oppose  them. 
In  this  exigency,  beset  on  all  sides,  they  resolved,  to  the 
number  of  about  eighty  persons,  to  fly  no  farther,  but 
to  make  a  stand  at  a  house  in  Warwickshire  ;  to  de- 
fend it  to  the  last,  and  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  pos- 
sible. But  even  this  miserable  consolation  was  denied 
them  ;  a  spark  of  fire  happening  to  fall  among  some 
gunpowder  that  was  laid  to  dry,  it  exploded,  and  so 
maimed  the  principal  conspirators  that  the  survivors 
resolved  to  open  the  gate  and  sally  out  against  the 
multitude  that  surrounded  the  house.  Some  were  in- 
stantly cut  to  pi-eces ;  Catesby,  Percy,  and  Winter, 
standing  back  to  back,  fought  long  and  desperately, 


136 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


fill  in  the  end  the  two  first  fell  covered  with  wounds, 
and  Winter  was  taken  alive.  Those  that  survived  the 
slaughter  were  tried  and  convicted  ;  several  perished 
by  the  hands  of  the  executioner ;  while  others  experi- 
enced the  king's  mercy.  The  Jesuits  Garnet  and  Old- 
corn,  who  were  privy  to  the  plot,  suffered  with  the 
rest ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  enormity  of  their  crime. 
Garnet  w^as  considered  by  his  party  as  a  martyr,  and 
miracles  were  said  to  have  been  wrought  by  his  blood. 

Such  was  the  end  of  a  conspiracy  that  brought  ruin 
on  its  contrivers,  and  only  disgraced  the  religion  it 
was  intended  to  establish.  Yet  it  is  remarkable,  that, 
before  this  audacious  attempt,  the  conspirators  had 
always  borne  a  fair  reputation.  Catesby  was  noted 
for  his  amiable  disposition,  and  Digby  was  as  highly 
esteemed  for  honor  and  integrity  as  any  man  in  Eng- 
land. Such  are  the  lamentable  effects  of  superstition 
and  religious  bigotry  in  extinguishing  all  human  sym- 
pathies, and  perverting  every  gentle  and  honorable 
feeling  that  can  ennoble  mankind. 


aiSTOiaY  OF  GHEAT  BRITAIN. 


137 


OLIVER  CROMWELL  AND  HIS  TIMES. 


Escape  of  Charles  the  Second,  after  the  battle  of  Worcester, 

Oliveh  Cromwell  is  the  most  remarkable  person 
in  English  history.  From  an  obscure  origin  he  rais- 
ed himself  to  sovereign  power  ;  and,  although  he  re- 
fused the  title  of  King,  he  reigned  over  Great  Britain 
with  absolute  sway,  and  became  the  most  powerful 
sovereign  that  ever  guided  the  destinies  of  that  nation. 
No  characters  fill  so  brilliant  a  page  in  history,  as  those 
who  have  founded  monarchies  on  the  ruins  of  repub- 
lican institutions.  Mankind,  indeed,  profess  more  es- 
teem for  patriots,  who,  like  Washington,  after  leading 
their  countrymen  to  victory,  voluntarily  abdicate  that 
authority  which  might  have  been  exerted  for  their  own 
personal  aggrandizement ;  yet  the  glory  of  these  great 
men,  although  purer,  is  not  of  so  seductive  and  daz- 
12* 


138 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


zling  a  kind  as  that  of  the  successful  conqueror  who 
places  a  crown  upon  his  head. 

Cromwell  was  the  son  of  a  private  gentleman  of 
Huntingdon,  and  was  born  at  that  place  on  the  25th 
of  April,  1599.  He  received  an  ordinary  education, 
and  in  the  early  part  of  his  life  gave  no  indication 
whatever  of  the  possession  of  any  great  or  shining 
qualities.  His  manners  were  rude  and  boisterous,  his 
acquirements  small,  and  his  morals  licentious  ;  unless, 
indeed,  the  royalists,  in  their  enmity,  have  blackened 
his  character  by  falsehoods.  Suddenly  he  reformed, 
married,  settled  in  his  native  town,  and  led  a  sober 
and  religious  life.  His  enemies  have  called  this  hy- 
pocrisy, but  it  does  not  appear  that  any  thing  was  to  be 
gained  by  such  an  assumed  character.  Cromwell  was 
doubtless  a  sincere  enthusiast.  He  removed  to  the 
Isle  of  Ely,  abandoned  the  Church  of  England,  attach- 
ed himself  to  the  Puritans,  and  manifested  increased 
zeal  for  religion.  As  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
conversion,  he  made  restitution  to  persons  of  whom  he 
had  won  money  by  gaming.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  parliaments  of  1625  and  1628 ;  but  his  worldly 
affairs  beginning  to  decline,  he  took  a  farm  near  St. 
Ives,  which  he  occupied  five  years.  His  affairs  growing 
still  worse,  he  formed  a  resolution,  in  1637,  of  emigrat- 
ing to  New  England  in  company  with  John  Hampden ; 
which  would  have  been  carried  into  effect,  had  not  the 
ship  in  which  he  was  about  to  embark  for  Boston  been 
detained.  Charles  the  First  issued  a  proclamation  for- 
bidding new  settlers  to  sail  for  America;  little  did 
he  imagine  that  he  was  compelling  a  man  to  remain 
in  the  kingdom,  who  was  destined  to  wrest  the  sceptre 
from  his  hand  and  bring  him  to  the  scaffold. 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


139 


The  tyranny  of  Charles  had  alienated  the  feelings 
of  his  subjects.  Believing  in  the  divine  right  of  kings, 
and  the  almost  unlimited  extent  of  the  royal  authority, 
he  set  no  bounds  to  his  arbitrary  measures.  Dissenters 
from  the  established  church  were  persecuted.  To 
enjoy  liberty  of  conscience,  the  Puritans  had  fled  across 
the  Atlantic  and  sought  an  asylum  on  the  wild  New 
England  shores.  Freedom  of  speech  against  the 
tyrannical  misdoings  of  Charles  and  his  minions  was 
punished  by  fines,  the  pillory,  cropping  the  ears,  &c. 
The  high  spirit  of  the  English  nation  could  not  endure 
this  long.  Murmurs  of  discontent  soon  grew  into 
clamorous  indignation,  and  at  length  a  manly  resist- 
ance was  opposed  to  the  arbitrary  usurpations  of  the 
crown.  John  Hampden  refused  to  pay  the  illegal 
assessment  of  ship-money,  and  was  prosecuted  in  the 
Court  of  Exchequer.  The  judges  pronounced  against 
him,  but  all  England  was  aroused  by  the  proceeding, 
and  the  result  was  a  popular  victory.  The  people  saw 
that  their  liberties  were  menaced. 

Parliament  took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  popular 
rights.  The  king,  finding  them  intractable,  attempted 
to  rule  without  them,  but  this  only  hastened  the  crisis. 
Cromwell  was  returned  a  member  of  the  parliament 
which  met  in  1640,  and  which,  from  the  length  of  time 
it  continued,  obtained  the  name  of  the  Long  Parliament, 
Here  opportunities  presented  themselves  of  displaying 
his  abilities.  He  studied  the  characters  of  parties 
and  individuals,  and  obtained  that  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  state  and  the  prospect  of  affairs  which  gave  him 
shortly  afterward  so  remarkable  an  ascendency.  The 
king  and  parliament  could  no  longer  keep  terms  with 
each  other.  Charles  set  up  his  standard  at  Oxford,  and 


140 


SKETCHES  PROM  THEi 


the  civil  war  began.  The  two  parties  nicknamed  each 
other  "  CavaHers  "  and  "  Round-heads,"  the  latter 
phrase  being  appHed  to  the  Puritans  from  their  custom 
of  cropping  their  hair. 

Cromwell  entered  with  great  zeal  into  the  rebellion. 
When  the  parliament  first  decided  to  levy  forces 
against  the  king,  he  raised  by  his  own  exertions  a 
troop  of  horse,  and  took  the  command  by  a  commis- 
sion from  the  Earl  of  Essex,  general-in -chief  of  the 
parliamentary  armies.  The  military  talents,  which  he 
had  never  di-eamed  of  possessing,  quickly  began  to 
appear.  He  undertook  many  spirited  and  successful 
enterprises  on  his  own  responsibility.  He  was  made  a 
colonel,  and  his  regiment  soon  became  the  best  in  the 
service.  Flis  method  of  discipline  may  be  understood 
from  one  particular.  To  try  the  courage  and  presence 
of  mind  of  his  recruits,  he  placed  a  dozen  troopers  in 
ambuscade,  who  suddenly  rushed  upon  them.  About 
twenty  of  the  recruits  galloped  off  the  field  at  full 
speed.  These  he  cashiered,  and  enlisted  bolder  men 
in  their  place.  By  such  means  his  ranks  were  purged 
of  all  cowards. 

By  his  important  services,  Cromwell  soon  attracted 
general  notice  and  acquired  the  confidence  of  par- 
liament. He  was  appointed  lieutenant-general  of  cav- 
alry, and  at  the  battle  of  Marston  Moor,  in  1644,  turned 
the  fortune  of  the  day,  and  caused  the  first  great  defeat 
of  the  royalists.  He  again  distinguished  himself  at  the 
battle  of  Newbury ;  and,  the  eyes  of  the  whole  nation 
being  now  turned  upon  him,  he  was  called  by  his 
party  the  Saviour  of  the  Nation.  The  opponents  of 
the  king  were  divided  into  several  parties.  Cromwell 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


141 


was  a  member  of  the  sect  denominated  "  Indepen- 
dents." By  the  management  of  this  party,  an  act  called 
"  the  Self-denying  Ordinance  "  was  sanctioned  by  the 
parliament,  which  provided  that  no  member  of  that 
body  should  hold  any  military  command.  By  this  crafty 
manoauvre,  many  officers  who  stood  in  the  way  of 
Cromwell's  elevation  were  excluded ;  while  Cromwell 
himself,  from  his  extraordinary  influence  over  the  par- 
liament, the  people,  and  the  soldiery,  was  specially  ex- 
empted from  the  operation  of  the  act.  The  army 
was  under  the  command  of  Fairfax,  a  brave  and  hon- 
est man,  but  no  match  for  the  superior  ability,  craft, 
and  ambition  of  Cromwell,  who  was  now  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-general  in  the  army.  By  his 
skill  and  bravery,  the  decisive  battle  of  Naseby  was 
gained  in  June,  1645.  For  his  services  in  this  exploit, 
and  others  which  immediately  followed,  parliament 
voted  him  £  2500  a  year.  Through  his  exertions,  the 
royalists  were  defeated  in  every  quarter,  and  the  king 
fled  to  Scotland. 

Cromwell's  great  fame  and  overgrown  influence  now 
began  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  the  parliament,  although 
he  continued  to  profess  the  most  profound  submission 
to  their  authority.  They  proposed  to  reduce  the  army, 
designing  to  disband  his  corps  ;  but  he  had  the  ad- 
dress to  counteract  this  scheme,  and  turned  the  plot 
to  his  own  advantage,  by  preserving  himself  in  the 
command  and  getting  rid  of  many  rivals  and  enemies. 
By  his  management,  the  king  was  made  prisoner  and 
carried  to  the  head-quarters  of  the  army  ;  and  from  this 
time  till  the  trial  and  execution  of  Charles,  Cromwell 
practised  a  most  extraordinary  and  successful  scheme 


142 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


of  policy,  deceiving  and  overreaching  the  king,  the 
parliament,  and  the  army. 

The  second  civil  war,  in  which  the  Scots  joined  the 
royalists,  called  Cromwell  again  into  the  field.  We 
have  no  room  to  specify  his  various  successes.  Charles 
the  First,  after  escaping,  was  again  captured,  put  on 
trial  before  the  parliament,  and  condemned  to  die. 
Cromwell,  with  forty  members  of  the  Lower  House, 
signed  the  death-warrant,  and  the  king  was  beheaded 
in  front  of  his  own  palace  of  Whitehall,  on  the  30th  of 
January,  1649. 

Cromwell,  as  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  invaded 
that  country  in  1649.  He  conquered  the  island,  and 
returned  the  next  year.  The  Scots  now  threatened 
an  invasion  of  England  in  favor  of  Charles  the  Second. 
Cromwell  marched  into  that  country  with  twenty 
thousand  troops,  gave  the  Scots  a  signal  overthrow  at 
the  decisive  battle  of  Dunbar,  captured  Edinburgh, 
and  obliged  the  young  king  to  make  a  desperate  at- 
tempt to  retrieve  his  affairs  in  England.  Cromwell 
marched  in  pursuit  of  the  royal  army,  and  at  the  battle 
of  Worcester,  on  the  3d  of  September,  1651,  obtained 
a  victory  which  he  called  his  crowning  mercy.  The 
royalists  were  defeated  and  utterly  dispersed,  and 
Cromwell  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  London,  with 
ail  the  pomp  of  a  conqueror  and  deliverer.  The  meas- 
ure of  his  glory  was  now  full  and  his  influence  su- 
preme ;  without  an  equal  or  a  competitor,  the  path 
opened  to  his  ambition  was  boundless. 

The  parliament  had  now  become  unpopular,  yet 
they  found  pretexts  for  delaying  their  dissolution. 
CVomwell  resolved  upon  the  bold  expedient  of  dis- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


143 


solving  them  by  force ;  and  this,  the  most  extraordi- 
nary act  of  his  life,  was  immediately  accomplished. 
With  a  guard  of  three  hundred  men,  he  proceeded 
to  the  parliament-house,  where,  leaving  his  soldiers  at 
the  door,  he  entered  and  took  his  seat.  After  hsten- 
ing  to  the  debates  a  short  time,  he  started  up,  bade  the 
speaker  leave  the  chair,  and  told  the  members  they 
had  sat  long  enough  unless  they  did  more  good. 
"  Come,  come  !  "  said  he,  "  I  will  put  an  end  to  your 
prating.  You  are  no  parliament :  I  say  you  are  no 
parliament."  Then,  stamping  with  his  foot,  he  ordered 
them  for  shame  to  "  Be  gone  and  give  place  to  honest 
men."  The  soldiers,  at  this  signal,  entered  the  house. 
Cromwell  pointed  at  the  mace,  the  symbol  of  authority, 
which  always  lay  on  the  table  in  front  of  the  speaker, 
and  exclaimed,  "  Take  away  that  bawble ! "  At  the  same 
time  an  officer  took  the  - speaker  by  the  arm  and  led 
him  down  from  his  seat.  Cromwell,  again  addressing 
the  members,  said,  It  is  you  that  forced  me  to  this ; 
for  I  have  besought  the  Lord,  night  and  day,  that  he 
would  rather  slay  me  than  put  me  upon  the  doing  of 
this  work."  He  then  seized  the  papers,  turned  the 
members  out  of  the  house,  and  locked  the  doors.  Such 
was  the  end  of  the  Long  Parliament,  on  the  19th  of 
April,  1653. 

Cromwell  was  now  supreme  ruler  of  England,  and 
on  the  16th  of  December,  1653,  formally  assumed  the 
title  of  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland.  But  to  keep  up  the  external 
form  of  a  popular  government,  he  convened  a  parlia- 
ment, which,  from  the  name  of  one  of  its  members,  be- 
came known  as  "  Barebone's  Parliament."  This  body. 


144 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


however,  was  soon  thrown  aside,  and  the  Protector 
reigned  alone.  His  administration  placed  England  in 
the  first  rank  of  Christian  powers.  He  taught  every 
nation  to  value  her  friendship  and  to  dread  her  enmity. 
He  rebuked  the  haughty  pride  of  the  French  monarch, 
and  foiled  the  veteran  craft  of  Mazarin.  He  humbled 
Spain  on  the  land,  and  Holland  on  the  sea ,  arrested 
the  victorious  arms  of  Sweden,  and  the  persecuting  fires 
of  Rome.  His  administration  was  glorious  ;  but  with 
no  vulgar  glory.  It  was  not  one  of  those  periods  of 
overstrained  and  convulsive  exertion,  such  as  we  have 
witnessed  in  our  own  day,  necessarily  producing  de- 
bility and  languor  ;  its  energy  was  natural,  healthful, 
and  temperate.  No  sovereign  ever  carried  to  the 
throne  so  large  a  portion  of  the  best  popular  feeling, 
so  strong  a  sympathy  with  the  interests  of  the  people. 
Cromwell,  even  by  the  confession  of  his  enemies,  ex- 
hibited in  his  demeanour  the  simple  and  natural  noble- 
ness of  a  man  neither  ashamed  of  his  origin  nor  vain 
of  his  elevation.  He  behaved  like  one  who  had  found 
his  proper  place  in  society,  and  felt  secure  that  he 
was  competent  to  fill  it. 

Threats  of  assassination  by  the  royalists  compelled 
him  to  take  strict  precautions  for  his  safety.  He  wore 
armor  under  his  clothes,  and  carried  loaded  pistols. 
Many  conspiracies  against  him  were  detected  by  that 
good  fortune  which  always  marked  his  career,  and  he 
died  peaceably  in  his  bed,  on  the  3d  of  September, 
1658,  the  anniversary  of  his  two  great  victories  of 
Dunbar  and  Worcester.    In  the  language  of  Byron, 

"  His  day  of  double  victory  and  death 

Beheld  him  win  two  realms,  and,  happier,  yield  his  breath." 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


145 


Cromwell,  in  military  genius,  must  be  allowed  to  be 
the  greatest  man  that  the  British  empire  has  ever  pro- 
duced. Marlborough  and  Wellington  defeated  more 
enemies,  and  conducted  campaigns  on  a  larger  scale ; 
but  they  were  trained  in  the  best  military  schools,  and 
commanded  armies  ready  disciplined  to  their  hands. 
Cromwell  passed  his  youth  and  the  prime  of  his  man- 
hood in  peaceful  occupations  and  studies.  He  never 
looked  on  war  till  he  was  more  than  forty  years  old. 
He  was  compelled  first  to  teach  himself  the  art  of 
war,  and  then  to  teach  it  to  his  troops.  Out  of  raw 
levies  he  created  an  army,  the  bravest  and  the  best 
disciplined,  the  most  orderly  in  peace  and  the  most 
terrible  in  war,  that  Europe  had  seen  ;  an  army, 
which,  in  all  the  furious  animosity  of  civil  strife,  knew 
nothing  akin  to  the  horrors  of  Magdeburg  and  St.  Se- 
bastian. He  called  this  body  into  existence,  and  led  it 
to  conquest.  He  never  fought  a  battle  without  gaining 
a  victory,  and  never  gained  a  victory  without  utterly 
ruining  his  opponent.  Yet  his  triumphs  were  not  the 
highest  glory  of  his  military  system.  The  respect 
which  his  troops  paid  to  property,  their  attachment  to 
the  laws  and  religion  of  their  country,  their  submission 
to  the  civil  power,  their  temperance,  their  intelligence, 
and  their  industry  are  without  a  parallel. 

The  charges  of  hypocrisy  and  fanaticism  have  been 
made  against  Cromwell.  As  to  the  former,  it  is  in- 
cumbent upon  us  to  inquire  how  far  a  man  has  deceiv- 
ed himself,  before  we  accuse  him  of  deceiving  others. 
And  as  to  his  fanaticism,  it  never  urged  him  upon 
impracticable  undertakings,  nor  confused  his  percep- 
tions of  the  public  good.  He  did  not,  like  Napole- 
VIII.— 13 


146 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


on,  under  the  influence  of  a  presumptuous  fatalism, 
risk  his  fame  and  his  power  in  a  frantic  contest 
against  the  principles  of  human  nature,  and  the  laws 
of  the  physical  world,  against  the  rage  of  winter, 
and  the  liberty  of  the  seas.  Cromwell  could  com- 
mand his  passions,  and  pursue,  as  a  first  object,  the 
happiness  of  the  people  under  his  care  ;  a  praise  which 
will  never  be  bestowed  on  the  Conqueror  of  Europe. 
Never  was  any  ruler  so  manifestly  born  for  sovereign- 
ty. The  cup  of  prosperity,  which  has  intoxicated 
almost  all  others,  sobered  him.  Rapidly  as  his  for- 
tunes grew,  his  mind  expanded  more  rapidly  still.  In- 
significant as  a  private  citizen,  he  was  a  great  general, 
and  a  still  greater  sovereign.  Easy  in  manners,  even 
to  familiarity,  where  his  own  dignity  was  concerned, 
he  was  punctilious  only  for  his  country.  His  own 
character  he  left  to  take  care  of  itself,  and  to  be  de- 
fended by  his  victories  in  war,  and  his  reforms  in 
peace.  He  rendered  the  administration  of  justice 
uniform  throughout  the  realm,  reformed  the  repre- 
sentative system  in  a  most  judicious  manner,  and 
went  down  to  the  grave  in  the  fulness  of  his  power 
and  fame. 

Cromwell  left  two  sons,  the  elder  of  whom,  Richard, 
succeeded  him  in  the  Protectorate.  Had  he  possessed 
but  a  moderate  degree  of  capacity  and  firmness,  the 
Commonwealth  of  England  would  have  continued  to 
this  day  ;  and  the  whole  history  of  Europe,  and  of 
North  America,  perhaps,  would  have  been  materially 
different.  But  the  imbecile  Richard  Cromwell,  daunted 
by  the  first  shadow  of  a  difficulty,  dropped  from  his 
feeble  hands  the  reins  of  government,  and,  in  the  per- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


147 


plexities  which  followed,  monarchy  was  restored  in  the 
person  of  Charles  the  Second. 

That  prince  escaped  from  the  battle  of  Worcester 
as  soon  as  he  saw  that  the  day  was  lost.  With  a  small 
company  of  attendants,  he  eluded  the  pursuit  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry  by  the  fleetness  of  his  horse,  and  struck 
off  from  the  high  road  without  well  knowing  which 
way  to  go.  The  country  was  hostile,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  the  most  diligent  search  would  be  made  for 
him.  He  therefore  disguised  himself  in  the  dress  of 
a  countryman,  cropped  his  hair  close,  in  the  manner  of 
the  Puritans,  and  set  out  on  foot,  with  a  single  compan- 
ion, designing  to  proceed  to  London.  They  soon  es- 
pied a  troop  of  three  thousand  of  Cromwell's  cavalry 
galloping  toward  them,  on  which  they  fled  into  an 
adjoining  wood,  where  they  remained  the  whole  day 
without  food  or  drink,  and  drenched  with  a  heavy  rain. 
Here  Charles  altered  his  design,  and  resolved  to  cross 
the  Severn  into  Wales,  from  which  quarter  he  hoped 
to  make  his  escape  into  France.  Passing  by  a  mill  in 
the  night,  they  heard  a  great  noise  of  people  talking, 
and  were  hailed  by  the  miller.  They  answered, 
"  Neighbours  going  home."  "  If  you  are  neigh- 
bours, well,"  answered  the  miller ;  "  but  if  not,  I  will 
knock  you  down."  Upon  this  they  ran  down  a  narrow, 
dirty  lane,  and  the  miller  with  others  at  their  heels, 
crying,  "  Rogues  !  rogues !  "  By  running  fast,  and 
skulking  behind  hedges,  they  got  away  from  their  pur- 
suers, and  reached  the  house  of  a  royalist  named 
Wolfe,  who  had  hiding-holes  for  priests  on  his  prem- 
ises. This  man  did  not  dare  lodge  the  prince  in  one 
of  these  recesses,  but  secreted  him  in  his  barn  under 


148 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


the  corn  and  hay.  Charles  now  thought  it  best  to  re- 
trace his  steps,  and  accordingly  returned  as  far  as  the 
house  of  a  man  named  Penderell.  Here  it  was  judged 
unsafe  for  him  either  to  remain  in  the  house  or  take 
refuge  in  the  woods,  as  the  republican  troops  were 
scouring  the  country  in  every  quarter.  There  was  a 
large  oak  tree  standing  in  an  open  situation  in  the 
neighbourhood,  which  had  been  lopped  a  few  years 
previous,  and  was  covered  with  thick  foliage  which 
could  not  be  seen  through.  This  seemed  to  offer  the 
only  safe  asylum,  and  Charles,  with  one  companion, 
ascended  the  tree  in  the  night,  with  some  bread,  cheese, 
and  small  beer,  and  stayed  there  all  the  following  day, 
during  which  time  they  saw  great  numbers  of  soldiers 
going  up  and  down,  and  searching  the  woods  for  fugi- 
tives. This  tree  afterwards  became  famous  as  the 
"  Royal  Oak,"  which,  the  old  Primer  informs  us,  in 
language  that  has  puzzled  many  a  juvenile  American 
scantily  acquainted  with  the  details  of  English  history, 

"  was  the  tree 
That  saved  his  Royal  Majesty." 

Issuing  from  the  Royal  Oak  the  following  night, 
Charles  pursued  his  course.  The  reader  may  be  cu- 
rious to  know  how  the  king  of  England  was  dressed. 
With  all  the  gravity  of  history,  we  are  told,  he  was  in 
"  a  very  greasy  old  hat  with  the  brim  turned  up,  no 
lining,  nor  hat-band.  A  green  cloth  jump-coat,  thread- 
bare, the  threads  being  white  ;  breeches  of  the  same, 
with  long  knees  down  to  the  garters.  An  old  greasy 
leather  doublet,  a  pair  of  white  flannel  stockings,  their 
tops  cut  off  to  prevent  discovery,  and  over  them  a  pair 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


149 


of  old  green  yarn  stockings,  all  worn  and  darned  at  the 
knees,  and  their  feet  cut  off.  An  old  coarse  shirt,  torn 
and  patched  at  the  neck  and  wrists,  and  his  shoes  all 
cut  and  slashed."  In  this  disguise  he  was  enabled  to 
skulk  from  place  to  place,  till  he  procured  a  horse,  and 
once  more  shifted  his  attire.  Near  Bentley,  the  horse 
cast  a  shoe,  and  Charles  took  him  to  a  blacksmith. 
As  he  was  holding  up  the  horse's  foot,  he  asked  the 
smith,  "  What  news  ?  "  He  replied,  that  •  the  Scots 
were  beaten,  but  "  the  rogue  Charles  Stuart  was  not 
taken."  The  prince  rejoined,  that,  "  if  that  rogue  were 
taken,  he  deserved  to  be  hanged  more  than  all  the  rest, 
for  bringing  in  the  Scots."  The  smith  told  him  he 
"  spake  like  an  honest  man,"  and  with  this  comfort 
Charles  took  leave  of  the  blacksmith. 

At  Stratford-upon-Avon,  he  fell  in  with  a  troop  of 
horse  of  the  enemy,  but  escaped  recognition.  At  a 
house  in  Cirencester,  while  eating  his  breakfast,  he 
found  himself  in  company  with  a  man  who  had  known 
him  perfectly  well.  Charles  questioned  him  very  close- 
ly, and  the  man  gave  an  accurate  description  of  him, 
with  the  exception  of  one  particular.  "  He  is,"  said  he, 
"  full  three  fingers  taller  than  you."  Encountering 
adventures  of  this  kind,  and  hair-breadth  escapes  almost 
without  number,  he  at  length  reached  the  sea-coast  at 
Shoreham  in  Sussex,  where  some  persons  in  his  confi- 
dence provided  a  small  vessel,  in  which  he  made  his 
escape  across  the  Channel  to  France.  The  last  of 
these  adventures  is  amusing.  While  sitting  upon  the 
beach,  in  company  with  a  fisherman  who  was  in  the 
secret,  another  fisherman  came  strolling  toward  them, 
smoking  his  pipe.  On  approaching  close  to  Charles, 
13* 


150 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


he  peered  in  his  face  with  a  stare  of  rude  curiosity. 
The  prince's  confidant  trembled  in  fear  of  a  discovery. 
"  Come  away,"  he  exclaimed,  do  n't  trouble  the  gen- 
tleman with  your  tobacco-smoke."  "  Pugh  !  "  replied 
the  other,  "  '  A  cat  may  look  upon  a  king.^  " 


THE  PLAGUE  IN  LONDON. 

England  has  experienced  several  visitations  of  this 
terrible  disease.  About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, that  country  suffered  in  common  with  all  Europe ; 
the  disorder  being  then  called  the  Black  Death.  Two 
centuries  afterward,  the  same  general  calamity  occur- 
red. In  the  seventeenth  century,  the  plague  again  made 
great  ravages  there,  appearing  at  four  different  times. 
The  last  of  these  visits  was  the  most  terrible,  and  is 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Great  Plague.  It  appears 
to  have  been  introduced  from  Holland,  where  it  had 
swept  off  great  multitudes  in  the  years  1663  and  1664. 

The  first  cases  that  attracted  notice  occurred  in  the 
outskirts  of  London,  in  December,  1664.  These  excited 
alarm,  and  directed  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the 
weekly  variation  in  the  bills  of  mortality.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  cool  temperature  of  the  air  and  the  frequent 
changes  in  the  weather  were  hailed  as  favorable  cir- 
cumstances ;  on  the  other,  it  could  not  be  concealed, 
that  the  number  of  deaths,  from  whatever  cause  it 
arose,  was  continually  on  the  advance.  In  this  state 
of  suspense,  alternately  agitated  by  their  hopes  and 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


151 


fears,  men  looked  to  the  result  with  the  most  intense 
anxiety ;  and  at  length,  about  the  end  of  May,  under 
the  influence  of  a  warmer  sun,  and  with  the  aid  of  a 
close  and  stagnant  atmosphere,  the  evil  burst  forth  in 
all  its  terrors.  From  the  centre  of  St.  Giles's,  the  in- 
fection spread  with  rapidity  over  the  adjacent  parishes, 
threatened  the  court  at  Whitehall,  and,  in  defiance  of 
every  precaution,  stole  its  way  into  the  heart  of  the  city. 
A  general  panic  ensued  ;  the  nobility  and  gentry  were 
the  first  to  flee  ;  the  royal  family  followed  ;  and  then 
all  who  valued  their  personal  safety  more  than  the 
considerations  of  home  and  interest,  prepared  to  imi- 
tate their  example.  For  some  weeks,  the  tide  of  emi- 
gration flowed  from  every  outlet  towards  the  country  ; 
it  was  checked  at  first  by  the  refusal  of  the  Lord 
Mayor  to  grant  certificates  of  health,  and  by  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  neighbouring  townships,  which  rose  in 
their  own  defence  and  formed  a  barrier  round  the  de- 
voted city. 

The  absence  of  the  fugitives,  and  the  consequent  ces- 
sation of  trade,  and  the  breaking  up  of  establishments, 
served  to  aggravate  the  calamity.  It  was  calculated 
that  forty  thousand  servants  had  been  left  without  a 
home  ;  and  the  number  of  artisans  and  laborers  thrown 
out  of  employment  was  still  more  considerable.  It  is 
true  that  the  charity  of  the  opulent  seemed  to  keep 
pace  with  the  progress  of  distress.  The  king  sub- 
scribed the  weekly  sum  of  a  thousand  pounds ;  the 
city,  six  hundred.  The  queen  dowager,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  the  Earl  of  Craven,  and  the  Lord  May- 
or, distinguished  themselves  by  the  amount  of  their 
benefactions ;  and  the  magistrates  were  careful  to  in- 


152 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


sure  a  constant  supply  of  provisions  in  the  markets. 
Yet  the  families  that  depended  on  casual  relief  for  the 
means  of  subsistence  were  necessarily  subjected  to 
privations,  which  rendered  them  more  liable  to  re- 
ceive, and  less  able  to  subdue,  the  contagion.  The 
mortality  was  at  first  confined  to  the  lower  classes, 
carrying  off  the  children  in  a  larger  proportion  than  the 
adults,  and  the  females,  than  the  men.  But,  by  the  end 
of  June,  so  rapid  was  the  diffusion,  so  destructive  were 
the  ravages  of  the  disease,  that  the  civil  authorities 
deemed  it  time  to  exercise  the  power  with  which  they 
had  been  invested  by  an  act  of  James  the  First,  for 
the  charitable  relief  and  ordering  of  persons  infected 
with  the  plague."  They  divided  the  parishes  into  dis- 
tricts, and  allotted  to  each  district  a  competent  number 
of  officers,  under  the  denominations  of  examiners, 
searchers,  nurses,  and  watchmen.  They  ordered  that 
the  existence  of  the  disease,  wherever  it  might  pene- 
trate, should  be  made  known  to  the  public  by  a  red 
cross,  one  foot  in  length,  painted  on  the  door,  with  the 
words,  "  Lord  have  mercy  on  us !  "  placed  above  it. 
From  that  moment  the  house  was  closed ;  all  egress, 
for  the  space  of  one  month,  was  inexorably  refused  ; 
and  the  wretched  inmates  were  doomed  to  remain 
under  the  same  roof,  communicating  death  to  one 
another.  Of  these,  many  sunk  under  the  horrors  of 
their  situation  ;  many  were  rendered  desperate.  Tliey 
eluded  the  vigilance,  or  corrupted  the  fidelity  of  the 
watchmen ;  and  by  their  escape,  instead  of  avoiding, 
served  only  to  disseminate  the  contagion.  Provision 
was  also  made  for  the  speedy  interment  of  the  dead. 
In  the  daytime,  ofiicers  were  always  on  the  watch  to 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


153 


withdraw  from  public  view  the  bodies  of  those  who 
expired  in  the  streets.  During  the  night,  the  tink- 
ling of  a  bell,  accompanied  by  the  glare  of  links,  an- 
nounced the  approach  of  the  pest-cart,  making  its 
round  to  receive  the  victims  of  the  last  twenty-four 
hours.  No  coffins  were  prepared,  no  funeral  service 
was  read,  no  mourners  were  permitted  to  follow  the 
remains  of  their  relations  or  friends.  The  cart  pro- 
ceeded to  the  nearest  cemetery,  and  shot  its  burden 
into  the  common  grave,  a  deep  and  spacious  pit,  capa- 
ble of  holding  some  scores  of  bodies,  and  dug  in  the 
churchyard,  or,  when  this  was  full,  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  parish. 

The  disease  generally  manifested  itself  by  the  usual 
febrile  symptoms  of  shivering,  nausea,  headache,  and 
delirium.  In  some,  these  affections  were  so  mild  as 
to  be  taken  for  a  slight  and  transient  indisposition. 
The  victim  saw  not,  or  would  not  see,  the  insidious 
approach  of  his  foe  ;  he  applied  to  his  usual  avocations, 
till  a  sudden  faintness  came  on ;  the  maculcB^  the  fatal 
tokens,  appeared  on  his  breast,  and  within  an  hour  life 
was  extinct.  But  in  most  cases  the  pain  and  delirium 
left  no  room  for  doubt.  On  the  third  or  fourth  day, 
buboes  or  carbuncles  arose  ;  if  these  could  be  made  to 
suppurate,  recovery  might  be  anticipated  ;  if  they  re- 
sisted the  efforts  of  nature  and  the  skill  of  the  physi- 
cian, death  was  inevitable.  The  sufferings  of  the 
patients  often  threw  them  into  paroxysms  of  frenzy. 
They  burst  the  bands  by  which  they  were  confined  to 
their  beds,  they  precipitated  themselves  from  the  win- 
dows, they  ran  naked  into  the  streets  and  plunged  into 
the  river. 


154 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


Men  of  the  strongest  minds  were  lost  in  amaze- 
ment, when  they  contemplated  this  scene  of  woe  and 
desolation;  the  weak  and  the  credulous  became  the 
dupes  of  their  own  fears  and  imaginations.  Tales 
the  most  improbable,  and  predictions  the  most  terrific, 
were  circulated.  Numbers  assembled  at  different  cem- 
eteries to  behold  the  ghosts  of  the  dead  walk  round 
the  pit  in  which  their  bodies  had  been  deposited  ;  and 
crowds  believed  that  they  saw  in  the  heavens  a  sword 
of  flame,  stretching  from  Westminster  to  the  Tower. 
To  add  to  their  terrors,  came  the  fanatics,  who  felt 
themselves  inspired  to  act  the  part  of  prophets.  One 
of  these  walked  through  the  city,  in  a  state  of  nudity, 
having  on  his  head  a  pan  of  burning  coals,  and  de- 
nouncing the  judgment  of  God  on  the  sinful  inhabitants. 
Another,  assuming  the  character  of  Jonah,  proclaimed 
aloud,  as  he  passed,  "  Yet  forty  days,  and  London 
shall  be  destroyed  !  "  And  a  third  might  be  met,  some- 
times by  day,  sometimes  by  night,  advancing  with  a 
hurried  step,  and  exclaiming  with  a  deep  and  sepul- 
chral voice,  "  Oh  !  the  great  and  dreadful  God  ! 

"  One  time,"  says  Defoe,  in  his  narrative  of  this 
terrible  calamity,  "  seeing  a  crowd  of  people  in  the 
street,  I  joined  with  them  to  satisfy  my  curiosity,  and 
found  them  all  staring  up  into  the  air  to  see  what  a 
woman  told  them  appeared  plain  to  her,  which  was  an 
angel  clothed  in  white,  with  a  fiery  sword  in  his  hand, 
waving  or  brandishing  it  over  his  head.  She  described 
every  part  of  the  figure  to  the  life,  showed  them  the 
•motion  and  the  form,  and  the  poor  people  came  into  it 
so  eagerly,  and  with  so  much  readiness  !  '  Yes,  I  see 
it  all  plainly,'  says  one  ;  '  there 's  the  sword  as  plain  as 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


155 


can  be  ! '  Another  saw  the  angel.  One  saw  his  very- 
face,  and  cried  out,  '  What  a  glorious  creature  he  "was  ! ' 
One  saw  one  thing,  and  one  another.  I  looked  as 
earnestly  as  the  rest,  but,  perhaps,  not  with  so  much 
willingness  to  be  imposed  upon  ;  and  I  said,  indeed, 
that  I  could  see  but  a  white  cloud,  bright  on  one  side  by 
the  shining  of  the  sun  on  the  other  part.  The  woman 
endeavoured  to  show  it  me,  but  could  not  make  me 
confess.  She  turned  to  me,  called  me  a  profane  fel- 
low and  a  scoffer  ;  told  me  that  it  was  a  time  of  God's 
anger,  and  dreadful  judgments  were  approaching,  and 
that  despisers,  such  as  I,  should  wonder  and  perish. 
The  people  about  her  seemed  disgusted  as  well  as  she, 
and  I  found  there  was  no  persuading  them  that  I  did 
not  laugh  at  them,  and  that  I  should  be  rather  mobbed 
by  them  than  be  able  to  undeceive  them.  So  I  left 
them,  and  this  appearance  passed  for  as  real  as  the 
blazing  star  itself."  * 

During  the  months  of  July  and  August,  the  weather 
was  sultry,  the  heat  more  and  more  oppressive.  The 
eastern  parishes,  which  at  first  had  been  spared,  be- 
came the  chief  seat  of  the  pestilence ;  and  the  more 
substantial  citizens,  who  had  hitherto  escaped,  suffered 
in  common  with  their  less  opulent  neighbours.  In 


*  It  is  proper  to  inform  the  reader,  that  Defoe  was  a  small 
child  at  the  time  of  this  event,  and  that  his  own  share  in  the 
adventures  which  make  his  narrative  of  the  plague  so  interest- 
ing is  only  invention.  Yet  he  is  allowed  by  every  one  to  have 
described  all  the  scenes  exhibited  by  this  terrible  visitation 
with  wonderful  accuracy.  —  The  "  blazing  star  "  was  a  comet 
which  appeared  about  this  time  and  increased  the  terror  of  the 
people. 


156 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


many  places  the  regulations  of  the  magistrates  could 
no  longer  be  enforced.  The  nights  did  not  suffice  for 
the  burial  of  the  dead,  who  were  now  borne  in  coffins  to 
their  graves  at  all  hours  of  the  day  ;  and  it  was  deemed 
inhuman  to  shut  up  the  dwellings  of  the  infected  poor, 
whose  families  must  have  perished  through  want,  had 
they  not  been  permitted  to  go  and  seek  relief.  Lon- 
don presented  a  wide  and  heart-rending  scene  of  mis- 
ery and  desolation.  Rows  of  houses  stood  tenantless 
and  open  to  the  winds  ;  others,  in  almost  equal  num- 
bers, exhibited  the  red  cross  flaming  on  the  doors. 
The  chief  thoroughfares,  so  lately  trodden  by  the  feet 
of  thousands,  were  overgrown  with  grass.  The  few 
individuals  who  ventured  abroad  walked  in  the  middle 
of  the  street,  and,  when  they  met,  turned  to  opposite 
sides,  to  avoid  contact  with  each  other.  But,  if  the  soli- 
tude and  stillness  of  the  streets  impressed  the  mind  with 
awe,  there  was  something  yet  more  appalling  in  the 
sounds  which  occasionally  burst  on  the  ear.  At  one 
moment  were  heard  the  ravings  of  delirium,  or  the 
wail  of  woe,  from  the  infected  dwellings  ;  at  another, 
the  merry  song,  or  the  loud  and  careless  laugh,  issu- 
ing from  the  wassailers  at  the  tavern,  or  the  inmates 
of  the  brothel.  Men  became  so  familiarized  with  the 
form,  that  they  steeled  their  feelings  against  the  terrors, 
of  death.  They  waited  each  for  his  turn  with  the 
resignation  of  the  Christian  or  the  indifference  of  the 
Stoic.  Some  devoted  themselves  to  exercises  of  piety, 
others  sought  relief  in  the  riot  of  dissipation  and  the 
recklessness  of  despair. 

September  came  ;  the  heat  of  the  atmosphere  began 
to  abate,  but,  contrary  to  expectation,  the  mortality 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN.  157 

increased.  Formerly  a  hope  of  recovery  might  be 
indulged  ;  now  infection  was  the  certain  harbinger  of 
death,  which  followed  generally  in  the  course  of  three 
days,  often  within  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours. 
The  privy  council  ordered  an  experiment  to  be  tried, 
which  was  grounded  on  the  practice  of  former  times. 
To  dissipate  the  pestilential  miasm,  fires  of  sea-coal, 
in  the  proportion  of  one  fire  to  every  twelve  houses, 
were  kindled  in  every  street,  court,  and  alley  of  Lon- 
don and  Westminster.  They  were  kept  burning  three 
days  and  nights,  and  were  at  last  extinguished  by  a 
heavy  and  continuous  fall  of  rain.  The  next  bill  ex- 
hibited a  considerable  reduction  in  the  amount  of 
deaths ;  and  the  survivors  congratulated  each  other 
on  the  cheering  prospect.  But  the  cup  was  soon 
dashed  from  their  lips,  and  in  the  following  week, 
more  than  ten  thousand  victims,  a  number  hitherto  un- 
known, sunk  under  the  augmented  violence  of  the 
disease.  Yet  even  now,  when  hope  had  yielded  to 
despair,  their  deliverance  was  at  hand.  The  high 
winds,  which  usually  accompany  the  autumnal  equi- 
nox, cooled  and  purified  the  air;  the  fever,  though 
equally  contagious,  assumed  a  less  malignant  form  ; 
and  its  ravages  were  necessarily  more  confined,  from 
the  diminution  of  the  population  on  which  it  had  hith- 
erto fed.  The  weekly  burials  successively  decreased 
from  thousands  to  hundreds ;  and  in  the  beginning  of 
December,  seventy-three  parishes  were  pronounced 
clear  of  the  disease.  The  intelligence  was  hailed  with 
joy  by  the  emigrants,  who  returned  in  crowds  to  take 
possession  of  their  homes,  and  resume  their  usual  oc- 
cupations. In  February,  the  court  was  once  more  fix- 
VIII. — 14 


158 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


ed  at  Whitehall,  and  the  nobility  and  gentry  followed 
the  footsteps  of  the  sovereign.  Though  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  individuals  are  said  to  have  perished, 
yet  in  a  short  time  the  chasm  in  the  population  was  no 
longer  discernible. 


THE  GRElT  FIRE  OF  LONDON. 

The  year  which  followed  the  calamity  described 
in  the  preceding  pages  was  distinguished  by  another 
great  disaster  in  London.  On  the  night  of  the  2d  of 
September,  1666,  a  fire  broke  out  in  a  bake-house  in 
Pudding  Lane,  near  Fish  Street,  one  of  the  most  crowd- 
ed districts  of  the  city.  The  spot  was  surrounded  by 
wooden  buildings  with  tarred  roofs,  and  a  long  succes- 
sion of  warm  and  fair  weather  had  dried  these  com- 
bustible materials  to  such  a  degree  that  they  took  fire 
with  inconceivable  rapidity.  The  shops  and  stores  in 
the  neighbourhood  were  filled  with  the  most  inflam- 
mable materials,  and  the  conflagration  quickly  spread, 
and  raged  so  furiously,  that  the  inhabitants  were  panic- 
struck  at  the  beginning,  and  stood  amazed,  without  the 
power  to  use  prompt  and  energetic  means  for  checking 
the  fire.  Moreover,  by  some  accident  which  is  not 
explained,  the  pipes  for  conducting  water  from  the 
New  River  were  found  empty,  and  the  machinery  for 
raising  water  from  the  Thames,  being  near  the  spot 
where  the  fire  broke  out,  was  soon  burned.  At  the 
approach  of  day,  the  wind,  which  had  sprung  up  from 


HISTORY 


OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


159 


the  east,  blew  very  strong,  and  hourly  increaserl  in 
violence.  The  fire  now  advanced  with  frightful  veloci- 
ty, leaping  from  roof  to  roof  through  the  air,  and 
fastening  upon  houses  at  a  great  distance.  The  Lord 
Mayor,  who  had  it  in  his  power,  by  acting  with  prompt- 
ness and  decision,  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  flames, 
exhibited  nothing  but  timidity  and  irresolution.  A 
party  of  sailors  suggested  to  him  the  expedient  of 
blowing  up  houses  with  gunpowder ;  the  plan  was  ap- 
proved, but  that  functionary  thought  himself  obliged  to 
wait  till  he  could  obtain  the  consent  of  the  owner ;  and 
before  this  could  be  done  the  flames  had  anticipated 
him. 

The  ensuing  night,  "  if  night,"  says  an  eyewitness, 
"  it  could  be  called,  which  was  light  as  day  for  ten  miles 
round,"  presented  a  most  magnificent,  but  appalling 
spectacle.  Above  ten  thousand  buildings  were  on  fire 
at  one  moment,  sending  upward  a  pyramid  of  flame 
that  could  be  seen  for  forty  miles.  The  whole  sky 
was  in  a  bright  glow,  as  if  the  grand  cope  of  heaven 
were  embraced  in  the  conflagration.  A  column  of 
flame  a  mile  in  diameter  now  moved  with  a  terrific 
and  irresistible  march  from  east  to  west ;  and  every 
blast  of  the  furious  wind  scattered  through  the  air  in- 
numerable flakes  of  fire,  which,  falling  on  inflammable 
substances,  kindled  new  conflagrations.  The  roaring 
of  the  flames,  which  resembled  thunder,  the  scorching 
heat,  the  lurid  glare  of  the  atmosphere,  the  crash  of 
falling  towers,  steeples,  and  walls  ;  the  hurry  and 
clamor  of  tumultuous  crowds,  and  the  shrieking  of  the 
distracted  people,  all  combined  to  fill  every  breast  with 
such  astonishment  and  terror  as  have  seldom  been  ex- 
hibited in  the  history  of  human  calamities. 


160 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


The  consternation  was  augmented  by  reports  that  a 
conspiracy  existed  between  the  Dutch,  then  at  war  with 
England,  and  the  papists  and  republicans,  to  burn  the 
whole  city.  Men  were  said  to  have  been  arrested 
carrying  with  them  fulminating  powders ;  others  to  have 
been  seen  throwing  fire-balls  into  the  houses,  as  they 
stole  along  the  streets.  The  French  residents  in  Lon- 
don, to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand,  were  said  to 
have  taken  up  arms,  and  commenced  massacring 
every  Englishman  that  came  in  their  way.  In  the 
general  confusion  and  fright,  all  these  stories  were  be- 
lieved, and  the  terror  of  the  credulous  inhabitants  was 
raised  to  the  highest  point.  The  confusion  every- 
where became  redoubled.  All  were  mingled  together 
in  the  greatest  disorder ;  men  laboring  to  extinguish 
the  flames  ;  citizens  conveying  away  their  families  and 
goods  ;  crowds  flying  from  the  imaginary  massacre  ; 
other  crowds  in  arms  hastening  to  oppose  the  murder- 
ers ;  and  mobs  surrounding  and  ill-treating  every  stran- 
ger, foreigner,  and  reputed  papist,  who  ventured  into 
the  streets. 

The  fire  raged  with  the  greatest  fury  during  four 
days  and  nights.  "  The  stones  of  Paul's,"  says 
Evelyn,  "  flew  like  grenadoes ;  the  melted  lead  run- 
ning down  the  streets  in  a  stream,  and  the  very  pave- 
ments glowing  with  fiery  redness,  so  as  no  horse  nor 
man  was  able  to  tread  on  them.  The  air  all  about  was 
so  hot  and  inflamed,  that,  at  the  last,  one  was  not  able 
to  approach  it,  so  that  they  were  forced  to  stand  still 
and  let  the  flames  burn  on,  which  they  did  for  near 
two  miles  in  length  and  one  in  breadth.  The  clouds 
also  of  smoke  were  dismal,  and  reached,  upon  compu- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


161 


tation,  near  fifty  miles  in  length."  The  whole  city 
was  now  threatened  with  destruction,  and  an  attempt 
was  made,  when  too  late,  to  check  the  progress  of  the 
flames  by  blowing  up  houses.  Large  chasms  were 
thus  formed  in  the  path  of  the  rushing  conflagration ; 
but  such  was  the  fury  of  the  wind,  that  the  huge  burn- 
mg  flakes  were  carried  across  the  empty  spaces  and 
rendered  all  such  attempts  abortive.  At  length  the 
wind  began  to  subside,  and,  some  very  large  openings 
having  been  made  with  gunpowder,  the  further  advance 
of  the  conflagration  was  impeded,  and  it  gradually 
died  away,  though  several  months  elapsed  before  the 
flames  were  fully  quenched. 

Two  thirds  of  London  were  in  this  manner  reduced 
to  ashes  ;  thirteen  thousand  two  hundred  houses  and 
eighty-nine  churches  were  consumed ;  an  immense 
population  was  driven  into  the  fields,  houseless,  and  in 
a  state  of  utter  destitution.  In  the  suburbs  of  the  city, 
more  than  two  hundred  thousand  people  were  to  be 
seen  lying  on  the  bare  ground,  or  under  sheds  hastily 
erected.  The  government  applied  all  possible  means 
for  the  relief  of  these  unfortunate  people  ;  but  it  may 
easily  be  imagined  what  an  amount  of  loss  and  suffer- 
ing existed  beyond  the  power  of  public  or  private 
charity  to  mitigate.  All  sorts  of  opinions  were  current 
for  a  long  while  as  to  the  cause  of  the  fire.  Many 
persons  were  apprehended  on  suspicion  of  incendiar- 
ism ;  and  one  man,  confessing  the  fact,  was  condemned 
and  executed  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  in- 
sane and  innocent.  Not  a  few  considered  the  calamity 
as  a  special  visitation  of  the  Almighty,  and  looked  no 
further  for  its  origin.  Among  other  explanations  of 
11  14* 


162 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


this  sort,  was  one  put  forth  by  certain  wise  characters, 
that  it  was  designed  as  a  signal  rebuke  of  the  London- 
ers for  their  gluttony,  which  was  clearly  proved  by  the 
fact  that  it  began  in  Pudding  Lane  and  ended  in  Pie 
Corner.  The  general  prejudice  against  the  papists, 
however,  caused  the  fire  to  be  ascribed  to  them  by  the 
greater  part  of  the  people ;  and  on  the  monument 
erected  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  this  great  calam- 
ity, which,  according  to  the  well-known  lines  of  Pope, 

"  pointing  to  the  skies, 
Like  a  tall  bully,  lifts  its  head  and  Zze^," 

it  was  recorded,  that  "  the  burning  of  this  Protestant 
city  was  begun  and  carried  on  by  the  treachery  and 
malice  of  the  Popish  faction."  This  assertion,  al- 
though notoriously  without  a  shadow  of  proof,  was 
allowed  to  remain  till  within  about  ten  years,  when  it 
was  erased  by  public  authority. 


THE  SOUTH  SEA  BUBBLE. 

The  early  part  of  the  last  century  was  rendered 
famous  by  the  number  and  magnitude  of  "  bubbles," 
a  name  given  to  extravagant  and  ruinous  financial 
schemes,  and  tricks  of  speculation.  The  most  cele- 
brated of  all  these  was  the  South  Sea  Bubble,  which 
enriched  for  a  moment  vast  multitudes  of  people  in 
England,  and  then  plunged  them  into  hopeless  ruin. 
Fraud,  folly,  and  accident,  all  combined  to  pro- 


HISTORY  OF  GKEAT  BRITAIN. 


163 


duce  this  singular  catastrophe.  The  original  scheme 
was  projected  by  Sir  John  Bhmt,  a  man  who  was  bred 
a  scrivener,  but  who  had  the  invention  and  boldness 
to  start  a  financial  project  of  most  gigantic  dimensions. 
This  was  no  less  than  to  discharge  the  national  debt 
by  the  instrumentality  of  the  South  Sea  Company,  of 
which  Blunt  was  a  director.  He  had  the  cunning  and 
plausibility  to  meet  successfully  all  the  objections  of 
the  government  to  the  scheme,  and  a  bill  was  passed 
by  parliament,  in  1720,  authorizing  the  South  Sea 
Company  to  assume  all  the  public  debt. 

Blunt  had  taken  the  hint  of  his  plan  from  the  famous 
Mississippi  Scheme  formed  by  John  Law,  which,  in  the 
preceding  year,  had  raised  such  a  ferment  in  France, 
and  entailed  ruin  upon  many  thousand  families  in  that 
kingdom.  In  the  project  of  Law  there  was  some- 
thing substantial.  An  exclusive  trade  to  Louisiana 
promised  some  advantages,  though  the  design  was  de- 
feated by  the  frantic  eagerness  of  the  people.  Law 
himself  became  the  dupe  of  the  French  Regent,  who 
transferred  the  burden  of  fifteen  hundred  millions  of 
the  king's  debts  to  the  shoulders  of  the  subjects,  while 
the  projector  was  sacrificed  as  the  scape-goat  of  the 
political  iniquity.  The  South  Sea  Scheme  promised 
no  commercial  advantage  of  any  importance.  It  was 
buoyed  up  by  nothing  but  the  folly  and  rapacity  of 
individuals,  which  became  so  blind  and  extravagant, 
that  Blunt,  with  moderate  talents,  was  able  to  impose 
upon  the  whole  nation,  and  make  tools  of  the  other  di- 
rectors of  the  Company,  to  serve  his  own  purposes  and 
those  of  a  few  associates.  When  this  projector  found 
that  the  South  Sea  stock  did  not  rise  according  to  his 


164 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


expectation,  upon  the  passage  of  the  bill,  he  circulated  a 
report  that  Gibraltar  and  Port  Mahon  would  be  exchang- 
ed for  some  places  in  Peru,  by  which  means  the  Eng- 
lish trade  to  the  South  Sea  would  be  protected  and  en- 
larged. This  rumor,  diffused  by  his  emissaries,  acted 
like  a  contagion.  In  five  days  the  directors  opened 
their  books  for  a  subscription  of  one  million.  Persons 
of  all  ranks  crowded  to  the  house  in  such  numbers 
that  the  first  subscription  exceeded  two  millions  of 
original  stock.  In  a  few  days  this  advanced  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  subscriptions  were  sold  for  double 
the  price  of  the  first  payment. 

Without  entering  into  a  detail  of  the  proceedings,  or 
explaining  the  scandalous  deceits  that  were  practised  to 
enhance  the  value  of  the  stock  and  decoy  the  unwary, 
we  shall  only  observe,  that  by  the  promise  of  prodi- 
gious dividends,  and  other  dishonest  arts,  the  price  of 
the  shares  was  raised  from  one  hundred  pounds  to  one 
thousand,  and  the  whole  nation  became  infected  with 
the  spirit  of  stock-jobbing  to  an  astonishing  degree. 
All  distinctions  of  party,  religion,  sex,  character, 
and  circumstances  were  swallowed  up  in  this  uni- 
versal concern,  or  in  some  such  pecuniary  project. 
Exchange  Alley  was  filled  with  a  strange  concourse  of 
statesmen  and  clergymen,  churchmen  and  dissenters, 
whigs  and  tories,  physicians,  lawyers,  tradesmen,  and 
even  with  multitudes  of  females.  All  other  profes- 
sions and  employments  were  utterly  neglected,  and  the 
people's  attention  was  wholly  engrossed  by  this  and 
other  chimerical  schemes.  New  companies  started  up 
every  day,  under  the  countenance  of  the  prime  nobility. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  was  constituted  governor  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


165 


Welsh  Copper  Company  ;  the  Duke  of  Chandos  ap- 
peared at  the  head  of  the  York  Buildings  Company ; 
the  Duke  of  Bridge  water  formed  a  third  company,  for 
building  houses  in  London  and  Westminster.  More 
than  a  hundred  such  schemes  were  projected  and  put 
in  execution,  to  the  ruin  of  many  thousands  of  people. 
The  sums  proposed  to  be  raised  by  these  expedients 
amounted  to  three  hundred  millions  sterling,  which 
exceeded  the  value  of  all  the  lands  in  England.  The 
nation  was  so  intoxicated  with  the  spirit  of  adventure, 
that  people  became  a  prey  to  the  grossest  delusion. 
An  obscure  projector,  pretending  to  have  formed  a 
very  advantageous  scheme,  which,  however,  he  would 
not  explain,  published  proposals  for  a  subscription,  in 
which  he  promised  that  in  one  month  the  particulars 
of  his  project  should  be  disclosed.  In  the  mean  time 
he  declared  that  every  person  paying  two  guineas 
should  be  entitled  to  a  subscription  for  one  hundred 
pounds,  which  would  produce  that  sum  yearly.  In 
one  forenoon  this  adventurer  received  a  thousand  of 
these  subscriptions,  and  then  absconded. 

During  the  infatuation  produced  by  this  extravagant 
scheme,  luxury,  vice,  and  profligacy  increased  to  an 
enormous  degree  of  extravagance.  The  adventurers, 
intoxicated  by  their  imaginary  wealth,  pampered  them- 
selves with  the  rarest  dainties  and  the  most  expensive 
wines  that  could  be  imported ;  they  purchased  the 
most  sumptuous  furniture,  equipage,  and  apparel, 
though  without  taste  or  discernment ;  they  indulged 
their  criminal  passions  to  a  most  scandalous  excess, 
and  their  discourse  was  the  language  of  pride,  inso- 
lence, and  ridiculous  ostentation. 


166 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


The  infatuation  prevailed  till  the  8th  of  Septem- 
ber, when  the  stock  began  to  fall.  Some  of  the  ad- 
venturers then  awoke  from  their  delirium.  The  num- 
ber of  the  sellers  daily  increased.  On  the  29th,  the 
stock  had  sunk  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  ;  several  emi- 
nent goldsmiths  and  bankers,  who  had  lent  great  suns 
upon  it,  were  obliged  to  stop  payment  and  abscond. 
The  ebb  of  this  portentous  tide  was  so  violent  that  it 
bore  down  every  thing  in  its  way,  and  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  families  were  overwhelmed  with  ruin.  Public 
credit  sustained  a  terrible  shock,  the  nation  was  thrown 
into  a  dangerous  ferment,  and  nothing  was  heard  but 
the  ravings  of  grief,  disappointment,  and  despair. 
Some  principal  members  of  the  ministry  were  deeply 
concerned  in  these  fraudulent  transactions  ;  when  they 
saw  the  price  of  stock  sinking  daily,  they  employed 
all  their  influence  with  the  bank  to  support  the  credit 
of  the  South  Sea  Company.  That  corporation  agreed, 
though  with  reluctance,  to  subscribe  to  the  stock  of 
the  Company.  By  this  expedient  the  stock  was  raised, 
at  first,  and  those  who  contrived  it  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity to  sell  out.  But  the  bankruptcy  of  the  gold- 
smiths and  of  the  Swordblade  Company,  from  the  fall  of 
South  Sea  stock,  occasioned  such  a  run  upon  the  bank 
that  the  money  was  paid  away  faster  than  it  could  be 
received  from  the  subscription.  Then  the  South  Sea 
stock  sunk  again,  and  the  directors  of  the  bank,  finding 
themselves  in  danger  of  being  involved  in  that  com- 
pany's ruin,  renounced  their  agreement. 

The  directors  and  officers  of  the  South  Sea  Company 
were  examined  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
A  bill  was  brought  in,  disabling  them  from  enjoying 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


167 


any  office  in  that  company,  or  in  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, or  in  the  Bank  of  England.  Three  brokers  were 
likewise  examined  and  made  great  discoveries.  The 
treasurer  of  the  South  Sea  Company,  who  had  been 
intrusted  with  the  secrets  of  the  whole  affair,  thought 
proper  to  withdraw  himself  from  the  kingdom.  A 
proclamation  was  issued  to  apprehend  him,  and  an- 
other for  preventing  any  of  the  directors  from  escaping. 

The  Lords,  in  the  course  of  their  examination,  dis- 
covered that  large  portions  of  South  Sea  stock  had 
been  given  to  several  persons  in  the  administration  and 
the  House  of  Commons,  for  promoting  the  passage  of 
the  South  Sea  Act.  The  House  immediately  resolved 
that  this  practice  was  a  notorious  and  most  dangerous 
species  of  corruption  ;  that  the  directors  of  the  Com- 
pany having  ordered  great  quantities  of  their  stock  to 
be  bought  for  the  service  of  the  Company  when  it 
stood  at  a  very  high  rate,  on  pretence  of  keeping  up 
the  price  of  stock,  and  at  the  same  time  several  of 
the  directors  and  other  officers  having,  in  a  clandes- 
tine manner,  sold  their  own  stock  to  the  Company, 
such  directors  and  officers  were  guilty  of  a  notorious 
fraud  and  breach  of  trust.  Many  other  resolutions 
were  passed  against  this  dishonest  confederacy,  in 
which,  however,  the  innocent  were  confounded  with 
the  guilty.  Sir  John  Blunt  refusing  to  answer  certain 
interrogatories,  a  violent  debate  arose  about  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  should  be  treated.  Earl  Stanhope, 
conceiving  certain  reflections  to  be  aimed  at  him- 
self, was  seized  with  a  transport  of  anger.  He  under- 
took to  vindicate  the  ministry,  and  spoke  with  such 
vehemence  as  produced  a  violent  headache,  and  the 


168 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


following  day  he  became  lethargic,  was  seized  with 
a  suffocation,  and  expired. 

The  committee  of  inquiry  found,  that,  before  any 
subscription  could  be  made,  a  fictitious  stock  of  five 
hundred  and  seventy-four  thousand  pounds  had  been 
disposed  of  by  the  directors  to  facilitate  the  passing  of 
the  bill.  The  directors,  in  obedience  to  the  order  of 
the  House,  delivered  inventories  of  their  estates  ;  which 
were  confiscated,  by  act  of  parliament,  towards  making 
good  the  damages  sustained  by  the  Company,  after 
deducting  a  certain  allowance  for  each  according  to 
his  conduct  and  circumstances.  The  delinquents  being 
thus  punished  by  the  forfeiture  of  their  fortunes,  the 
House  turned  their  attention  to  the  means  of  repairing 
the  mischiefs  which  the  scheme  had  produced.  While 
this  afiair  was  in  agitation,  petitions  from  counties, 
*bities,  and  boroughs,  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  were 
presented  to  the  House,  crying  for  justice  against  the 
villany  of  the  directors.  Pamphlets  and  papers  were 
daily  published  on  the  same  subject ;  and  thus  the 
whole  nation  was  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
excitement  and  indignation. 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


169 


SCOTLAND. 


WALLACE  AND  HIS  TIMES. 

William  Wallace  is  the  most  heroic  character  in 
Scottish  history.  Yet  his  authentic  biography  can 
scarcely  be  traced.  Like  all  popular  favorites,  he  has 
suffered  from  the  fictions  with  which  fond  tradition 
has  adorned  his  fame  and  obscured  his  history.  His 
actions  have  always  been  the  prominent  theme  of  his 
countrymen,  and  his  memory  still  lives  in  their  un- 
diminished admiration.  His  actions  led  the  way  to 
the  independence  of  his  country,  at  a  period  when 
that  independence  was  a  rescue  from  tyranny  and 
oppression,  although  in  his  own  person  he  did  not  reap 
the  reward  of  his  great  services. 

Edward  the  First,  of  England,  had  assumed  the 
Scottish  crown  by  the  right  of  conquest ;  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  his  officers  was  felt  to  be  oppressive  and 
insulting  to  the  conquered  people.  Scotland  has  at  all 
times  had  a  high  national  feeling,  and  its  mountain 
chiefs  have  been  distinguished  for  their  habits  of  in- 
dependence. No  country  was  less  likely,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  to  submit  quietly  to  a  foreign  con- 
VIII. — 15 


170 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


queror.  What  the  sword  had  extorted,  the  sword 
might  again  dispute  ;  and  it  was  easy  to  understand 
that  the  Scots  only  wanted  an  able  and  resolute  leader, 
to  give  the  conquerors  serious  trouble.  Such  a  leader 
they  soon  found  in  William  Wallace,  who,  though  not 
of  noble  birth,  soon  made  himself  the  most  powerful 
and  famous  man  in  his  country. 

He  was  the  younger  son  of  a  small  landholder  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Paisley,  in  Renfrewshire,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  outlawed  in  his  youth  for  killing  an 
English  nobleman  ;  but  this  is  rather  a  popular  opinion 
than  a  historical  fact.  He  appears  to  have  been  en- 
tirely unknown  till  he  emerged  from  his  obscurity  to 
attack  the  English.  Seven  years  constitute  the  short 
period  of  his  exertions  and  his  celebrity ;  and  his  ac- 
tions are  more  fully  recorded  in  the  chronicles  of  his 
enemies,  scanty  as  those  notices  are,  than  in  the  me- 
morials of  his  countrymen.  The  first  achievement  by 
which  he  attracted  attention  was  his  killing  the  sheriff 
of  Lanark,  a  brave  and  powerful  man,  on  the  English 
side.  This  was  probably  a  sort  of  guerilla  exploit, 
successfully  accomplished  at  the  head  of  a  few  wan- 
derers whom  he  had  collected  ;  but  it  struck  the 
imagination  of  the  people,  and  from  that  time  the  dis- 
contented and  patriotic  eagerly  joined  him  and  made 
him  their  leader.  He  was  highly  qualified  for  the 
great  task  he  had  undertaken.  His  personal  appear- 
ance was  prepossessing,  his  courage  daring,  his  forti- 
tude unwavering,  and  his  liberality  unbounded.  Wher- 
ever he  went,  success  crowned  his  enterprises,  and  the 
English  everywhere  fell  before  him.  Enlarging  his 
objects  with  his  triumphs,  he  called  upon  the  men  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


171 


rank  to  assert  the  cause  of  their  country  under  his 
banner.  If  any  Scottish  nobleman  refused,  he  seized 
and  imprisoned  him  till  he  obeyed.  Having  thus  col- 
lected an  active  and  imposing  force,  he  attempted  to 
expel  the  English  from  the  castles  and  fortresses  in 
which  they  had  secured  themselves  throughout  the 
country,  till  his  exploits  reached  the  ears  of  Edward, 
and  aroused  him  to  serious  exertions  for  the  preserva- 
fton  of  his  newly  acquired  realm. 

Edward  could  not  at  first  credit  the  account  of  this 
unexpected  rising  of  the  Scots.  He  despatched  the 
Bishop  of  Durham,  a  warrior- prelate,  to  examine  and 
report  the  truth,  and  soon  received  a  confirmation  of 
the  unwelcome  news.  He  was  then  about  embarking 
to  defend  Flanders  from  a  French  invasion,  and  im- 
mediately ordered  his  former  general,  the  Earl  of 
Warenne,  to  march  and  chastise  the  northern  re  volte  rs. 
An  army  of  fifty  thousand  men  took  the  field,  and  the 
easy  re-conquest  of  Scotland  was  confidently  antici- 
pated. In  the  mean  time  Wallace  had  been  raised  to 
the  command  of  all  the  Scottish  forces.  He  was  be- 
sieging the  castle  of  Dundee,  in  the  year  1296,  when 
he  heard  that  the  English  were  advancing  to  Stirling. 
Committing  the  siege  to  the  citizens  of  the  town,  which 
he  charged  them  to  prosecute  under  the  penalty  of 
losing  life  and  limb,  if  they  were  negligent,  he  hasten- 
ed to  meet  the  invaders.  The  waters  of  the  Forth 
spread  between  the  English  and  the  town  of  Stirling ; 
and  a  rising  ground  was  beyond  it,  Wallace  halted 
behind  the  hill  to  watch  the  enemy.  Warenne  sent 
two  Dominican  friars  to  offer  peace.  "  Tell  your 
masters,"  said  Wallace,  "  we  come  not  here  for  peace 


172 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


but  to  fight,  —  to  revenge  and  liberate  our  country  ! 
Let  them  approach  when  they  please,  they  will  find 
us  ready  to  meet  them  to  the  very  beard  ! "  This  lofty 
answer  kindled  the  pride  of  the  English.  "  They 
threaten  us  ! "  was  the  general  exclamation,  "  let  us 
advance!"  —  "If  you  pass  by  the  bridge,"  said  a 
friendly  native,  "  you  are  ruined.  Two  only  can  pass 
it  at  a  time.  They  flank  us,  and  can  attack  with  all 
their  front.  There  is  a  ford  not  far  ofi*,  where  sixty 
men  may  cross  together ;  let  me  conduct  you  to  it." 
The  advice  was  rejected,  and  this  presumptuousness 
gave  Wallace  the  brightest  day  of  his  short  military  life. 

The  English  advanced  in  narrow  files  upon  the 
bridge.  Wallace  waited  quietly  till  as  many  had 
passed  as  he  was  sure  of  overcoming.  He  then  sent 
a  body  of  lancers  to  secure  the  foot  of  the  bridge,  and 
immediately  charged,  with  speedy  destruction,  the 
whole  first  division  of  the  enemy.  Their  total  dis- 
comfiture threw  Warenne  into  a  panic,  and  he  fled  to 
Berwick  as  fast  as  his  horse  could  carry  him,  aban- 
doning even  the  English  border-counties  to  his  tri- 
umphant antagonist,  who  followed  up  his  advantage 
with  such  promptness  that  he  was  soon  before  Carlisle. 
He  sent  in  a  friar  with  this  message  :  "  William  the 
Conqueror  commands  you  to  surrender."  "Who  is 
this  Conqueror  ?  "  inquired  the  governor.  "  William, 
whom  you  call  Wallace."  The  summons  was  defied, 
and  Wallace,  finding  he  could  not  carry  the  place  by 
assault,  prepared  to  retreat.  The  epithet  annexed  to 
his  name  shows  the  exultation  of  the  Scots  at  his  suc- 
cess, and  his  popular  celebrity. 

Wallace,  having  thus  liberated  his  country  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


173 


English  yoke,  assumed  the  title  of  "  Governor  of  Scot- 
land in  the  name  of  King  John  Baliol,"  who  had  been 
imprisoned  in  the  Tower  of  London  by  Edward.  He 
continued  his  exertions  for  maintaining  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  country  ;  but  Edward,  liaving  returned 
from  Flanders,  made  great  preparations  for  a  cam- 
paign against  the  Scots ;  and  they  soon  felt  that  the 
crisis  of  affairs  was  not  yet  past.  Eighty  thousand 
English  soon  penetrated  beyond  Edinburgh,  but  found 
themselves  severely  incommoded  by  the  want  of  pro- 
visions. The  scarcity  soon  became  a  famine,  and 
Edward  was  about  making  dispositions  for  a  retreat, 
when  some  one  mentioned  to  him  secretly,  that  the 
Scottish  army  under  Wallace  was  only  a  few  miles 
off,  in  the  forest  of  Falkirk ;  that  they  had  heard  of 
the  determination  of  the  English  to  fall  back,  and  had 
rapidly  advanced,  hoping  to  surprise  their  camp  on  the 
following  night.  Edward  immediately  gave  orders  to 
march  toward  Falkirk ;  his  troops  obeyed,  knowing  noth- 
ing of  his  design,  and  wondering  at  his  change  of  mind. 

In  the  moor  near  Linlithgow  Edward  halted  his 
troops  for  the  night.  They  rested  on  the  bare  earth, 
with  their  shields  for  pillows,  their  armor  for  beds, 
and  their  horses  held  unbaited  near  them.  As  the 
king  was  sleeping,  his  war-horse  struck  his  side  with 
his  hoof,  and  broke  two  of  his  ribs.  An  alarm  was 
spread  that  the  king  was  hurt ;  treason  was  suspected, 
and  a  panic  might  have  dispersed  the  English  army, 
if  Edward,  subduing  his  sensations  of  pain,  had  not 
placed  himself  in  his  saddle  and  reassured  his  troops 
by  his  presence.  At  dawn  of  day  they  marched  to 
Falkirk,  and  beheld  the  Scottish  army.  The  king 
15* 


174 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


wished  to  refresh  his  troops  with  food,  but  was  re- 
minded that  nothing  but  a  little  brook  separated  the 
two  armies.  He  saw  the  point  of  the  remark,  and 
instantly  ordered  the  attack. 

Wallace  formed  his  men  into  four  circular  bodies, 
facing  outwards,  with  their  lances  held  obliquely,  and 
with  archers  in  their  intervals.  A  peat  morass  was  in 
his  front,  and  he  caused  a  row  of  stakes,  tied  by  ropes, 
to  be  driven  into  the  ground,  as  a  defence  against  the 
English  cavalry.  Behind  these  he  posted  his  infantry, 
with  this  short  address :  "  I  have  brought  you  to  the 
ring, —  dance  well,  if  you  know  how." 

Edward  formed  his  troops  in  three  divisions.  The 
first  advanced  directly  towards  the  enemy,  ignorant  of 
the  morass,  but  on  reaching  it  were  obliged  to  deviate  to 
the  west.  The  second  line,  under  the  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham, skirted  the  morass  on  the  east.  This  division, 
eager  to  strike  the  first  blow,  marched  faster  than  the 
Bishop  desired,  as  he  thought  it  better  to  wait  for  the 
support  of  the  other  line.  It  is  not  for  you  to  teach 
us  war,"  cried  an  ardent  knight,  who  shared  the  com- 
mand ;  "  to  your  mass,  Bishop !  "  and  led  his  willing 
troops  into  the  conflict  with  the  first  circle  of  the 
Scots,  while  the  van  was  also  hastening  into  action. 
The  Scottish  cavalry  gave  way  before  the  impetuosity 
of  the  charge,  and  fled.  The  northern  bowmen,  from 
the  forest  of  Selkirk,  fought  manfully,  but  were  soon 
destroyed.  The  condensed  array  of  the  Scottish  lan- 
cers, with  their  obliquely  protruded  weapons,  was  then 
full  before  the  English  knights,  and  steadily  kept  them 
at  bay.  In  vain  they  attempted  to  break  the  firm 
army  j  the  foremost  of  the  assailants,  with  unavailing 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


175 


bravery,  perished  on  the  lances,  as  Wallace  had  fore» 
seen,  and  the  repulse  of  the  English  chivalry  did 
credit  to  his  military  judgment.  The  circles  of  infan- 
try were  impenetrable.  But  the  English  commanders 
v^ere  persevering  and  expert ;  they  observed  that  the 
Scottish  array,  though  so  effective  for  defence,  was  in- 
competent to  attack  ;  these  rings  of  men,  were,  in 
fact,  but  so  many  immovable  fortresses.  The  place 
abounded  with  large  stones,  and  the  English  brought 
up  their  crossbow-men  and  machines.  Stones  and  ar- 
rows were  poured  without  intermission  upon  the  Scots, 
till  so  many  were  killed,  that  the  rest,  overwhelmed, 
began  to  fall  back  and  close  their  circles.  At  this  criti- 
cal moment,  the  English  cavalry  burst  in,  followed  by 
their  foot,  before  the  Scottish  officers  could  re -arrange 
their  broken  rings,  which  this  movement  threw  into 
irretrievable  confusion.  The  day  was  now  lost,  and 
all  that  remained  for  the  Scots  was  to  save  themselves 
by  flight.  Many  thousands  of  them  were  slain.  —  Such 
was  the  disastrous  result  of  "  the  fight  of  Falkirk," 
which  took  place  in  the  summer  of  1298. 

Had  Wallace  been  allowed  the  authority  due  to  the 
superiority  of  his  genius,  the  result  would  have  been 
different.  But  it  seems  pretty  clear  that  there  were 
dissensions  in  his  army  before  the  action.  The  proud 
lairds  and  chieftains  cavilled  at  the  inferiority  of  the 
hero's  birth,  and  his  right  of  command  was  disputed. 
He  had  formed  a  safer  plan  of  operations ;  but  the  de- 
cision and  promptness  of  the  English  king  having 
suddenly  brought  his  army  before  the  Scottish  lines, 
the  momentous  battle  became  inevitable.  This  defeat, 
the  natural  result  of  superior  discipline  and  equipment, 


1T6 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


and  thei-efore  not  to  be  ascribed  to  any  fault  in  Wal- 
lace, destroyed  his  influence  among  the  selfish  chief- 
tains. They  foolishly  deserted  him,  and,  appointing 
Robert  Bruce  and  others  the  guardians  of  Scotland, 
they  protracted  a  defensive  struggle  till  1303,  when 
Edward,  having  made  peace  with  France,  was  enabled 
to  pour  the  whole  military  force  of  his  kingdom  into 
Scotland,  After  a  siege  of  ninety  days,  he  made  him- 
self master  of  Stirling,  a  success  which  enabled  him 
shortly  after  to  carry  his  victorious  army  through  the 
country.  Bruce,  Comyn,  and  their  followers,  surren- 
dered to  the  English.  The  Scottish  chieftains  all 
abandoned  the  contest  except  Wallace,  who  had  been 
indefatigable  in  animating  the  previous  warfare.  He 
was  invited  to  imitate  them,  and  put  himself  under  the 
royal  grace  ;  but  his  unbroken  spirit  resolutely  refused, 
and  he  withdrew  to  a  place  of  concealment. 

Edward's  resentment  was  inflamed  to  the  highest 
degree  by  this  scornful  rejection  of  his  offer  of  pardon. 
He  felt  his  conquest  to  be  insecure  while  Wallace 
lived,  and  he  despatched  many  parties  of  men  to  hunt 
him  out  in  his  retreat.  From  his  enemies  the  perse- 
cuted patriot  might  seclude  himself,  but  his  asylum  was 
accessible  to  deceitful  friends.  One  of  these,  directed 
by  a  faithless  domestic,  betrayed  him  into  the  hands  of 
Edward.  Age  had  now  chilled  in  King  Edward  all  the 
generous  feelings  that  ever  mitigated  his  resentments. 
He  saw  in  Wallace  only  an  irreconcilable  adversary, 
and  his  vindictive  spirit  had  not  the  magnanimity  to 
pardon.  Wallace  was  arraigned  at  Westminster  as  a 
traitor.  His  defence  was  complete ;  he  had  never  sworn 
allegiance  to  Edward,  and  owed  him  none  by  birth ; 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


177 


he  had  never  acquiesced  in  his  authority  ;  he  could  not 
be  a  traitor  to  him.  But  the  Enghsh  judges  adopted 
the  feelings  of  their  sovereign.  Wallace  was  found 
guilty  of  treason ;  and  was  hanged,  drawn,  and  quar- 
tered on  the  23d  of  August,  1305.  His  head  was 
exposed  on  London  bridge,  and  his  divided  limbs  were 
sent  to  intimidate  Scotland.  Edward  obtained  the 
wretched  gratification  of  destroying  his  noble  enemy  ; 
but  his  cruelty  has  only  increased  the  celebrity  of 
Wallace,  and  indelibly  blotted  his  own  fame. 

The  Scottish  writers,  as  might  be  expected,  have 
depicted  Wallace  as  a  character  amiable  and  great. 
The  English,  too  indignant  at  imputed  treason  to  feel 
the  justice  of  his  motives,  and  too  prejudiced  by  the 
representations  of  the  authority  they  revered  not  to 
misconceive  his  actions,  have  transmitted  to  us  his 
portrait  distorted  with  every  moral  deformity.  They 
assert  that  he  was  a  rebel,  a  public  robber,  a  murderer, 
an  incendiary,  and  an  apostate  ;  more  cruel  than  Her- 
od, more  wicked  than  Nero ;  tormenting  his  prisoners 
to  make  them  dance  in  agony  ;  embowelling  infants, 
and  consuming  schoolboys  in  flames.  All  these  impu- 
tations and  tales  may  be  construed  to  imply  that  he 
was  as  cordially  hated  and  misrepresented  in  one  coun- 
try as  he  was  loved  and  panegyrized  in  the  other.  We 
may  believe  that  he  plundered,  burnt,  and  slaughtered, 
often  without  mercy,  for  such  was  the  barbarous  char- 
acter of  war  in  that  ferocious  age.  We  find  Edward 
described  by  his  own  chroniclers  as  putting  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Berwick  to  the  sword  on  his  first  invasion  ;  and 
Wallace,  the  native  of  a  less  civilized  country,  would 
hardly  be  more  mild.  But  we  may,  perhaps,  fairly 
12 


17B 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


say,  that  his  cruelties  belonged  to  his  age,  and  that  his 
noble  spirit  was  his  own.  The  world  has  been  too 
deeply  indebted  to  similar  chax'acters  and  exertions,  for 
us  not  to  feel  that  Wallace  is  entitled  to  all  the  praise 
which  his  countrymen  have  lavished  upon  him. 

The  popular  affection  for  Wallace  is  still  strikingly 
shown  by  the  many  local  traditionary  remembrances 
of  him  which  are  still  preserved  in  Scotland.  The 
hills,  the  houses,  the  castles,  and  the  glens  which  he 
frequented  ;  the  stones  on  which  he  sat ;  the  tree  in 
which  he  was  secreted ;  the  rock  from  which  he 
plunged  into  the  sea ;  the  bridge  which  he  crossed ; 
the  forest  to  which  he  withdrew  ;  the  foaming  cascade 
behind  which  he  was  once  screened ;  the  barn  in 
which  he  was  taken ;  and  the  lake  into  which,  after  he 
was  overfK)wered,  he  hurled  his  sword,  are  still  fondly 
pointed  out.  "  The  story  of  Wallace,"  says  Robert 
Burns,  in  his  account  of  his  youthful  studies,  "  poured 
a  Scottish  prejudice  into  my  veins  which  will  boil  along 
them  till  the  flood-gates  of  life  shut  in  eternal  rest." 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


179 


WALES. 


LLEWELYN  AND  THE  BARDS. 

The  history  of  Wales,  during  its  earliest  period,  is 
little  else  than  the  history  of  perpetual  and  inglorious 
bloodshed.  Usurpers,  ambitious  princes,  irascible  kins- 
nrien,  or  depredating  chieftains,  are  exhibited  as  suc- 
cessively destroying  each  other,  and  depopulating  their 
country  ;  while  England  was  advancing  in  a  steady 
progress,  under  a  settled  government  and  internal 
tranquillity.  If  the  storms  of  civil  warfare  sometimes 
paused,  other  evils  arose  to  this  unhappy  people  from 
the  hostility  of  the  Anglo-Normans,  whose  incursions 
were  often  temporary  conquests.  After  a  series  of 
usurpations,  the  right  line  of  the  ancient  British  princes 
was  restored,  and  transmitted  throuofh  successive  de- 
scendants  to  Llewelyn  ap  Gryffith,  the  last  sovereign 
of  Wales. 

The  hostilities  of  William  the  Conqueror,  and  his 
son  E,ufus,  made  a  serious  impression  on  the  southern 
provinces  of  Wales  ;  and  two  colonies  of  P'lemings 
were,  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  the  First  and  Henry  the 
Second,  successfully  established  there.  The  military 
subjection  of  the  country  diminished  during  the  reign 


180 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


of  John,  and  in  the  first  years  of  his  son,  Edward  the 
First ;  but  as  this  prince  advanced  to  maturity,  his 
martial  spirit  found  in  the  country  an  inviting  theatre 
for  his  exploits.  At  the  age  of  twenty -four,  he  had 
led  his  father's  forces  over  the  Severn,  and  penetrat- 
ed to  Snowdon  ;  but  the  Welsh  fell  back  to  their  fast- 
nesses, and  the  conquerors  withdrew.  When  he  be- 
came king,  one  of  his  first  projects  was  to  subdue  the 
country  and  annex  it  to  England. 

It  is  dangerous  to  praise  ambition,  but  this  was  one 
of  those  few  military  conquests  which  benefit  humanity. 
Nothing  short  of  the  extinction  of  its  native  sovereign- 
ties, and  its  incorporation  with  England,  could  termi- 
nate those  scenes  of  murder  and  devastation,  which 
were  succeeding  each  other  with  no  prospect  of  cessa- 
tion. Edward's  character  is  responsible  for  the  per- 
sonal motives  in  this  enterprise  ;  but  its  accomplish- 
ment was  a  blessing  to  both  countries.  Sufficient 
causes  of  quarrel  existed  between  the  two  kings.  Ed- 
ward began  his  attack  with  every  form  of  solemnity. 
He  procured  the  excommunication  of  Llewelyn,  and 
the  English  parliament  pronounced  judgment  against 
him.  The  first  invasions  produced  the  submission  of 
the  Welsh  king  on  conditions  sufficiently  humiliating. 
But  rigor  never  conciliates,  and  the  warfare  was  soon 
revived  by  the  irritation  and  pride  of  the  oppressed. 
On  the  submission  of  Llewelyn,  his  brother  David  had 
been  treated  by  Edward  with  peculiar  distinction. 
This  prince  has  been  described  as  an  ingenious,  crafty, 
and  plotting  man.  He  soon  persuaded  Llewelyn  to 
try  again  the  fortune  of  war,  which  had  twice  dis- 
graced him. 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


181 


Edward  advanced  into  Wales  by  land,  in  1263,  and 
sent  his  fleet  to  Anglesey.  When  he  heard  of  the 
capture  of  this  island,  he  exclaimed,  "  Llewelyn  has 
lost  the  finest  feather  in  his  tail,"  and  caused  a  float- 
ing bridge  to  be  constructed,  joining  it  to  the  main  land. 
Meantime  the  Welsh  king  had  fortified  himself  on  the 
lofty  heights  of  Snowdon,  over  against  the  island,  and 
at  the  first  attempt  of  the  English  to  pass  the  bridge 
he  defeated  them,  and  drove  into  the  sea  upwards 
of  three  hundred  men.  The  Welsh  thus  having  the 
command  of  the  bridge,  the  English  remained  pent  up 
in  the  island,  when  a  traitorous  Welshman  disclosed  to 
them  a  ford  by  which  they  might  cross  and  attack 
their  enemy  in  the  rear.  Llewelyn,  ignorant  of  this 
treachery,  descended  from  the  mountains  to  reconnoitre 
the  position  of  the  English,  and,  thinking  himself  in 
perfect  security,  took  but  a  single  attendant  with  him. 
Having  inspected  the  opposite  shore,  he  was  reposing 
himself  in  a  barn,  when  he  heard  a  war-cry.  He 
asked  of  his  squire,  "  Are  not  my  Welshmen  at  the 
bridge  ?  "  The  answer  assured  him  that  they  were. 
"  Then  I  am  safe,"  said  the  king,  "  though  all  Eng- 
land should  be  on  the  other  side." 

But  the  clamor  soon  increased  and  drew  nearer 
every  moment,  and  presently  he  was  thrown  into  as- 
tonishment at  beholding  the  English  banners  advancing. 
The  enemy  had  struck  their  unexpected  blow  at  his 
advanced  guard,  and  their  main  body  was  rapidly 
crossing  the  river.  He  now  tried  to  regain  his  camp, 
but  was  suddenly  crossed  in  his  way  by  an  English 
knight,  who,  ignorant  of  his  rank,  but  discerning  him  to 
be  a  Welshman,  advanced  immediately  upon  him.  A 
VIII.— 16 


182 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


contest  was  unavoidable,  and  the  king  was  too  cour- 
ageous to  decline  it ;  but  he  was  lightly  armed,  and 
the  lance  of  the  Englishman  was  thrown  with  fatal 
strength  and  precision.  Llewelyn  received  it  in  his 
side  and  fell  dead.  The  English  knight,  unconscious  of 
the  importance  of  his  exploit,  fell  back  to  join  his  coun- 
trymen, who  were  now  in  full  march  on  the  fortified 
mountains.  The  Welsh  formed  eagerly  on  their  cliffs, 
prepared  for  battle,  but  awaiting  the  return  and  orders 
of  their  sovereign.  In  vain  they  watched  the  valleys 
for  his  approach,  in  vain  ascended  the  highest  emi- 
nences to  descry  him  ;  they  saw  their  dreaded  foes 
already  climbing  their  steeps  to  close  in  deadly  con- 
flict, and  they  had  no  royal  leader  to  animate  or  guide 
them.  Before  they  recovered  from  their  disappoint- 
ment, the  English  banners  began  to  wave  on  their 
heights,  and  they  found  themselves  attacked  on  all 
sides  with  an  impetuosity  which  soon  scattered  them 
in  a  panic  from  which  they  could  not  be  rallied.  All 
who  could  escape  the  English  sword  fled  in  hopeless 
confusion,  and  the  unexpected  casualties  of  that  event- 
ful day  annexed  the  sovereignty  of  Wales  to  the  crown 
of  England  with  a  facility  that  could  never  have  been 
anticipated. 

The  curiosity  of  the  knight  having  been  excited  by 
the  rumors  of  the  field,  he  descended  into  the  valley 
to  see  whom  he  had  encountered.  He  found  the  dead 
body  still  on  the  ground,  and,  examining  its  face,  it 
was  recognized  to  be  Llewelyn.  Eager  to  reap  the 
full  profit  of  his  fortunate  encounter,  he  degraded  his 
chivalry  by  cutting  off  the  head  of  the  corpse,  which 
he  carried  to  Edward.    The  king  had  not  the  magna- 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


183 


nimity  of  William  the  Conqueror,  who  reprimanded  the 
knight  who  had  wounded  the  dead  body  of  Harold,  but 
sent  the  head  of  Llewelyn  to  London,  adorned  in  de- 
rision with  a  silver  crown,  that  it  might  be  exhibited  to 
the  populace  in  Cheapside,  and  fixed  upon  the  Tower. 

Edward  is  said  to  have  secured  his  conquest  by  the 
massacre  of  the  Welsh  bards,  who  might  have  kept 
alive  the  national  spirit  and  nourished  the  animosity  of 
their  countrymen  to  the  English.  This  is  rather  a 
fiction  of  an  irritated  people  than  a  historical  fact. 
The  destruction  of  the  independent  sovereignties  of 
Wales  abolished  the  patronage  of  the  bards,  and  in  the 
cessation  of  internal  warfare  and  external  ravages  they 
lost  their  favorite  subjects  and  most  familiar  imagery. 
They  declined  because  they  were  no  longer  encour- 
aged ;  and  their  disappearance  has  been  mistaken  for 
their  forcible  extirpation.  The  bards  of  Wales  were 
supposed  to  be  endowed  with  powers  equal  to  inspira- 
tion. They  were  the  oral  historians  of  all  past  trans- 
actions, public  and  private.  They  related  the  great 
events  of  the  state,  and,  like  the  skalds  of  the  northern 
nations,  retained  the  memory  of  numberless  transac- 
tions which  otherwise  would  have  perished  in  oblivion. 
They  had  another  talent  which  probably  endeared 
them  more  than  all  the  rest  to  the  Welsh  nobility,  that 
of  being  most  accomplished  genealogists,  and  flat- 
tering their  vanity  in  singing  the  deeds  of  an  ances- 
try derived  from  the  most  distant  period.  No  public 
festivity,  great  feast,  or  wedding  could  be  duly  solem- 
nized without  the  presence  of  the  bards  and  minstrels. 
A  glorious  emulation  arose  among  them,  and  prizes 
were  bestowed  on  the  most  worthy. 


184 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


The  court  bard  was  a  domestic  officer.  He  held 
his  land  free,  and  was  entitled  to  a  horse  and  a  woollen 
garment  from  the  king,  and  a  linen  garment  from  the 
queen.  At  the  three  principal  feasts,  of  Christmas, 
Easter,  and  Whitsuntide,  he  sat  next  to  the  prefect  of 
the  palace,  who  delivered  the  harp  into  his  hand,  and 
at  these  festivals  he  had  the  robe  of  the  steward  for  his 
fee.  When  a  song  was  required,  the  bard  who  had 
gained  the  badge  of  the  chair,  in  musical  contest,  first 
sung  a  hymn  of  glory  to  God,  after  that  another  in 
honor  of  the  prince,  and  then  the  bard  of  the  hall  was 
to  sing  some  other  subject.  If  the  queen  desired  a 
song,  he  attended  her  in  her  own  chamber.  When  he 
accompanied  the  prince's  domestic  servants  upon  a 
foray,  he  had  an  ox  or  a  cow  from  the  booty,  and, 
while  the  prey  was  dividing,  he  sung  the  praises  of  the 
monarchy.  He  also  sung  in  the  same  strain  at  the 
head  of  the  troops,  when  drawn  up  for  fight.  This 
was  to  remind  the  Welsh  of  their  ancient  right  to  the 
whole  kingdom  ;  for,  their  inroads  being  almost  always 
on  the  English  territories,  they  thought  they  did  no 
more  than  seize  on  their  own.  When  invested  with 
this  office,  the  prince  gave  the  bard  a  harp,  and  the 
queen  a  gold  ring.  If  he  asked  any  gift  or  favor  of 
the  prince,  he  was  fined  an  ode  or  poem  ;  if  of  a  no- 
bleman, three  ;  if  of  a  common  person,  he  was  obliged 
to  sing  till  he  was  weary  or  fell  asleep. 

Wales,  immediately  after  its  incorporation  with 
England,  ceased  to  be  the  theatre  of  turbulence,  blood- 
shed, and  distress.  Nothing  more  strongly  marks  the 
beneficial  change  than  the  new  features  which  the 
Welsh  poetry  assumed  after  that  event.    We  see  no 


HISTORY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


185 


more,  in  endless  repetition,  the  horrible  imagery  of  the 
prowKng  wolf,  the  gushing  blood,  and  the  screaming 
kite  feasting  on  human  prey.  It  is  no  longer  the 
baneful  encomium  on  the  wasteful  conflict  and  the 
barbarous  chief.  The  fair  sex  now  began  to  form  the 
subject  of  the  bardic  lay,  and  their  charms  imparted 
that  inspiration,  which  had  previously  been  derived 
only  from  the  mead-cup  and  the  princely  gift.  The 
praise  of  the  sword  was  abandoned  for  more  pacific 
themes ;  and  the  mountain  muse  found  that  delight  in 
beauty  and  rural  nature,  which  she  had  formerly  expe- 
rienced only  in  murder  and  devastation. 


16* 


St,  Patrick,  preaching. 


IRELAND. 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 

The  vanity  of  nations,  as  well  as  of  individuals, 
leads  them  to  set  up  pretensions  to  high  antiquity  of 
origin.  Thus  the  Chaldeans  traced  back  their  history 
for  a  space  of  four  hundred  and  seventy  thousand 
years ;  and  the  Egyptians  were  scarcely  less  moderate 
in  their  claims.  It  is  a  good  evidence  of  the  credulity 
which  this  species  of  pride  inspires,  that  the  faith  of 
the  latter  people  in  their  fabulous  chronology  was  not 
disturbed  by  a  chasm  of  eleven  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  forty  years,  which  occurs  between  two  of 
their  kings,  Menes  and  Sethon. 

If  the  bardic  historians  of  Ireland  have  been  a  little 
less  extravagant  in  their  pretensions,  it  is  because  their 
stories  were  fabricated  at  a  later  date,  and  after  the 
Bible  had  been  introduced  among  them.  They  there- 
fore commence  their  story  but  a  few  weeks  before  the 
flood,  when,  agreeably  to  their  legends,  Cesara,  a 
niece  of  Noah,  arrived  with  a  colony  of  antediluvians 
upon  the  Irish  coast.  These  were,  at  different  times, 
followed  by  other  bands;  and  in  tho  fourth  century 


188  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 

after  the  flood,  Ireland  was  invaded  and  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  Partholen,  a  descendant  of  Japheth. 

After  holding  the  country  for  three  hundred  years, 
the  race  of  Partholen  was  swept  away  by  a  plague  ; 
and,  in  the  time  of  Jacob,  another  colony,  led  by  Ne- 
medius,  took  possession  of  the  country.  The  wars 
that  these  settlers  waged  with  the  Fomorians,  an  Af- 
rican tribe  of  sea-rovers,  form  one  of  the  favorite 
themes  of  the  ancient  Irish  muse. 

The  next,  and,  in  number,  the  third  of  these  colo- 
nies, were  Belgians,  and  known  under  the  name  of 
Fir-Bolgs ;  these  subjected  the  country  to  the  yoke  of 
regal  authority,  and  divided  it  into  five  kingdoms,  —  a 
form  of  government  which  existed  till  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  era.  The  dynasty  of  the  Fir- 
Bolgs  was,  however,  soon  disturbed  by  the  Tuatha  de 
Danaan,  —  a  people  famed  for  necromancy,  which  they 
had  learned  in  Greece.  Aided  by  the  Stone  of  Des- 
tiny, the  Sorcerer's  Spear,  and  the  Magic  Caldron, 
which  they  obtained  in  Denmark  and  Norway,  and 
led  by  Nuad  of  the  Silver  Hand,  the  Danaans  landed 
upon  the  island  under  cover  of  a  mist,  and  penetrated 
into  the  country  before  they  were  discovered.  The 
alarmed  inhabitants  retreated  before  ihem  into  Con- 
naught,  when,  at  Moytura,  on  the  borders  of  Lake 
Masg,  that  bloody  conflict  took  place,  which  is  called 
the  Battle  of  the  Field  of  the  Tower,  and  which  was 
long  a  favorite  theme  of  Irish  song.  Having  driven 
their  opposers  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  North  Aran,  and  the 
Hebrides,  the  victorious  Danaans  became  sole  masters 
of  the  country.  But  they  in  turn  were  dispossessed 
of  their  sway  by  the  Scotic  or  Milesian  colony,  which 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 


189 


through  so  long  a  series  of  ages  furnished  Ireland  with 
her  kings. 

This  celebrated  colony,  though  coming  directly  from 
Spain,  was  originally,  we  are  told,  of  the  Scythic  race  ; 
and  its  various  migrations  and  adventures,  before  reach- 
ing its  "Isle  of  Destiny"  in  the  west,  are  detailed  by 
the  bards  with  all  that  fond  and  lingering  minuteness, 
in  which  fancy,  playing  with  its  own  creations,  so 
much  delights  to  indulge.  Grafting  upon  this  Scythic 
colony  the  traditional  traces  and  stories  of  their  coun- 
try respecting  the  Phoenicians,  they  have  contrived  to 
collect  together,  without  much  regard  either  to  chro- 
nology, history,  or  geography,  every  circumstance 
that  could  tend  to  dignify  and  add  lustre  to  such  an 
event,  —  an  event  upon  which  not  only  the  rank  of 
their  country  itself,  in  the  heraldry  of  nations,  depend- 
ed, but  in  which  every  individual,  entitled  by  his  Mile- 
sian blood  to  lay  claim  to  a  share  in  so  glorious  a 
pedigree,  was  imagined  to  be  interested.  In  order 
more  completely  to  identify  the  ancestors  of  these 
Scythic  colonists  with  the  Phoenicians,  the  bards  relate 
that  by  one  of  them,  named  Fenius,  to  whom  the  in- 
vention of  the  Ogham  character  is  attributed,  an 
academy  for  languages  was  instituted  upon  the  Plain 
of  Shinar,  in  which  that  purest  dialect  of  the  Irish, 
called  the  Bearla  Feini,  was  cultivated. 

From  thence,  tracing  this  chosen  race  in  their  mi- 
grations to  different  countries,  and  connecting  them, 
by  marriage  or  friendship,  during  their  long  sojourn 
in  Egypt,  with  most  of  the  heroes  of  Scripture  his- 
tory, the  bards  conduct  them  at  length,  by  a  route  not 
very  intelligible,  to  Spain.    There,  by  their  valor  and 


190  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 

enterprise,  they  succeed  in  liberating  the  country  from 
its  Gothic  invaders,  and  in  a  short  time  make  them- 
selves masters  of  the  whole  kingdom.  Still  haunted, 
however,  in  the  midst  of  their  glory,  by  the  remem- 
brance of  a  prophecy  which  had  declared  that  an 
island  in  the  Western  Sea  was  to  be  their  ultimate 
place  of  rest,"  the  two  sons  of  their  great  leader,  Mi- 
lesius,  at  length  fitted  out  a  grand  martial  expedition, 
and  set  sail,  in  thirty  ships,  from  the  coast  of  Gallicia, 
for  Ireland.  According  to  the  bardic  chronology, 
thirteen  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  but 
according  to  Nennius  Aengus  and  others,  near  five 
centuries  later,  this  "  lettered  and  martial  colony  ar- 
rived, under  the  command  of  the  sons  of  Milesius,  on 
the  Irish  coasts  ;  and,  having  effected  a  landing  at 
Inbher  Sceine,  the  present  Bantry  Bay,  on  Thursday, 
the  first  of  May,  A.  M.  2934,  achieved  that  great  and 
memorable  victory  over  the  Tuatha  de  Danaan,  which 
secured  to  themselves  and  their  princely  descendants, 
for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  the  supreme  domin- 
ion over  all  Ireland." 

Such  is  a  very  brief  outline  of  the  early  history  of 
Ireland,  as  furnished  by  the  bards.  It  would,  perhaps, 
be  equally  unwise  wholly  to  adopt  or  reject  their  story. 
It  is  as  probable  that  there  is  some  foundation,  in  reality, 
for  most  of  these  events,  as  it  is  that  the  Grecian  tales 
of  Hercules  and  Theseus  had  their  origin  in  truth. 
But  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  fabulous  from  the 
historical ;  and  we  are  therefore  compelled  to  leave 
the  subject  in  one  of  those  happy  mists,  in  which  anti- 
quaries may  continue  to  fight  their  bloodless  battles. 

Although  the  Milesian  colony  is  embraced  in  the 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 


191 


bardic  fables,  it  seems  properly  to  come  within  the 
scope  of  veritable  history.  We  do  not,  indeed,  adopt 
even  the  chronology  of  the  sanguine  Irish  historians 
of  modern  date.  Dr.  O'Connor,  who  has  bestowed 
vast  learning  upon  the  subject,  considers  Kimboath  the 
fifty-sixth  king  of  the  Milesian  line,  and  carries  his 
reign  back  to  a  period  at  least  two  centuries  before 
Christ. 

Leaving  the  date,  as  a  matter  of  entire  uncertainty, 
we  may  proceed  to  some  details  respecting  the  Scotic 
or  Milesian  dynasty.  It  seems  that  the  tribe  came  to 
Ireland  under  the  two  sons  of  Milesius,  Heber  and 
Heremon.  They  divided  the  country  between  them, 
constituting  their  brother  Emergin  arch  bard,  or  pre- 
siding minister  over  the  departments  of  law,  poetry, 
and  religion. 

The  two  kings,  Heber  and  Heremon,  soon  quarrelled 
for  the  possession  of  a  beautiful  valley,  and  Heber  was 
slain,  his  brother  now  becoming  sole  sovereign  of  the 
island.  Passing  over  the  immediate  successors  of 
Heremon,  we  may  notice  Tighernmas,  who  was  mirac- 
ulously destroyed,  with  a  vast  multitude  around  him, 
for  offering  sacrifice  to  the  idol  Crom  Cruach.  Achy, 
his  successor,  passed  an  edict,  regulating  the  exact 
colors  of  the  garments  the  different  classes  of  people 
should  wear.  011am  Foodhla,  the  royal  sage,  as  he 
is  called,  instituted  the  triennial  convention  at  Tara,  in 
which  there  seemed  an  approach  to  representative 
government ;  the  leading  persons  of  the  three  orders, 
the  king,  the  Druids  or  priests,  and  the  plebeians,  being 
convened  for  the  making  of  such  laws  as  the  public  good 
required.    In  the  presence  of  these  assemblies,  the 


192 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 


events  to  be  entered  on  the  public  Psalter  or  record, 
kept  at  Tara,  were  examined  and  prepared. 

The  space  between  011am  Foodhla  and  Hugony  the 
Great,  the  royal  builder  of  the  famous  palace  of  E ma- 
nia, is  filled  up  by  the  bards  with  thirty-two  kings,  all 
of  whom  died  by  violence  except  three.  In  the  reign 
of  Conary  the  Great,  which  coincides  with  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  era,  the  young  hero  CuchuUin 
was  slain  in  the  full  flush  of  his  glorious  career.  With 
the  fame  of  this  Irish  warrior  most  readers  have  been 
made  acquainted  by  the  poems  of  Macpherson,  at- 
tributed to  Ossian.  Tuathal  the  Acceptable,  after 
having  been  compelled  to  fly  his  kingdom,  was  restored 
about  the  year  130,  and  mtroduced  various  improve- 
ments in  the  laws  and  institutions  of  the  country. 
Feidlim  the  Legislator,  and  Con  of  the  Hundred  Bat^ 
ties,  intervened  between  Tuathal  and  Cormac  Ulfadha, 
who  is  said  to  have  founded  three  academies  at  Tara, 
to  have  revised  the  Psalter  from  the  time  of  011am 
Foodhla  ;  and,  having  lost  an  eye  in  repelling  an  attack 
upon  his  palace,  resigned  his  crown,  in  obedience  to  a 
law  which  excluded  any  one  marked  with  a  personal 
blemish  from  the  throne.  Having  retired  to  a  thatched 
cabin  at  Kells,  this  king  devoted  himself  to  the  writing 
of  books,  one  of  which,  "  The  Advice  to  a  King," 
was  said  to  be  extant  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

A  long  space  now  occurs,  in  which  there  is  little  of 
interest.  Succeeding  to  the  usurper  Colla,  Nial  of  the 
Nine  Hostages  made  a  formidable  invasion  of  Britain, 
in  the  fourth  century,  and  afterwards  extended  his 
enterprises  to  the  coast  of  Gaul,  where  he  was  assas- 
sinated by  one  of  his  followers  with  a  poisoned  arrow. 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 


193 


It  was  in  the  course  of  this  expedition  that  the  soldiers 
of  Nial  carried  off  a  youth  destined  to  work  a  great 
revolution  in  Ireland. 

Such,  from  the  period  of  Kimboath,  is  the  semi- 
authentic  history  of  Ireland,  based  upon  the  annalists, 
catching,  however,  an  occasional  ray  of  light  from  the 
bardic  legends.  If  it  cannot  be  set  down  as  entirely 
worthy  of  our  confidence,  we  may  at  least  rest  in  the 
belief,  that,  in  its  general  outline,  and  doubtless  in  its 
prominent  characters,  it  affords  a  general  representa- 
tion of  truth. 

Succeeding  to  Nial  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  Dathy, 
the  last  of  the  pagan  kings  of  Ireland,  like  his  prede- 
cessor, ravaged  the  coast  of  Gaul,  and,  making  his 
way  to  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  was  there  slain  by  a  flash 
of  lightning.  Leogaire,  who  reigned  at  the  time  of 
St.  Patrick's  mission,  was  killed  by  the  sun  and  wind, 
for  violating  an  oath. 

The  authentic  history  of  Ireland  properly  begins 
with  St.  Patrick,  in  the  fifth  century.  The  name  of 
this  Christian  apostle  has  been  so  often  connected  with 
incredible  tales  and  miraculous  legends,  that  it  is  apt 
to  excite  ridicule  in  the  minds  of  many  persons.  But 
an  examination  of  his  true  history  will  lead  every  fair- 
minded  individual  to  a  very  different  estimate  of  his 
character.  St.  Patrick  appears  to  have  been  a  native 
of  Boulogne,  in  France,  and  to  have  been  born  about 
the  year  387,  A.  D.  In  his  sixteenth  year,  he  was 
made  captive,  as  before  intimated,  in  a  marauding  ex- 
pedition, conducted  by  Nial  of  the  Nine  Hostages. 
Being  carried  to  Ireland,  he  was  sold  as  a  slave  to  a 
man  named  Milcho,  living  in  what  is  now  called  the 
13      VIII.— 17 


/ 


194  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 

county  of  Antrim.  The  occupation  assigned  him  was 
the  tending  of  sheep.  His  lonely  rambles  over  the 
mountain  and  the  forest  are  described  by  himself  as 
having  been  devoted  to  constant  prayer,  to  thought, 
and  to  the  nursing  of  those  deep  devotional  feelings, 
which,  even  at  that  time,  he  felt  strongly  stirring  within 
him.  At  length,  after  six  years  of  servitude,  the  de- 
sire of  escaping  from  bondage  arose  in  his  heart.  "  A 
voice  in  his  dreams,"  he  says,  "  told  him  that  he  was 
soon  to  go  to  his  own  country,  and  that  a  ship  was 
ready  to  convey  him  thither."  Accordingly,  in  the 
seventh  year  of  his  slavery,  he  betook  himself  to  flight, 
and,  making  his  way  to  the  south-western  coast  of 
Ireland,  was  there  received  on  board  a  merchant  ves- 
sel, which,  after  a  voyage  of  three  days,  landed  him  on 
the  coast  of  Gaul.  He  now  returned  to  his  parents, 
and,  after  spending  some  time  with  them,  devoted  him- 
self to  study  in  the  celebrated  monastery  of  St.  Martin 
at  Tours.  During  this  period,  it  would  appear  that 
his  mind  still  dwelt  with  fond  recollection  upon  Ire- 
land ;  for  he  had  a  remarkable  dream,  which,  in  those 
superstitious  ages,  was  regarded  by  him  as  a  vision 
from  Heaven.  In  this  he  seemed  to  receive  innumer- 
able letters  from  Ireland,  in  one  of  which  was  written, 
"  The  voice  of  the  Irish."  In  these  natural  workings 
of  a  warm  and  pious  imagination,  so  unlike  the  prodi- 
gies and  miracles  with  which  most  of  the  legends  of 
his  life  abound,  we  see  what  a  hold  the  remembrance 
of  Ireland  had  taken  of  his  youthful  fancy,  and  how 
fondly  he  already  contemplated  some  holy  work  in 
her  service. 

Having  left  the  seminary  at  Tours,  he  spent  several 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND.  195 

years  in  travelling,  study,  and  meditation  ;  but  at 
length,  being  constituted  a  bishop,  and  having,  at  his 
own  request,  been  appointed  by  the  see  of  Rome  to 
that  service,  he  proceeded  on  his  long  contemplated 
mission  to  Ireland. 

Let  us  pause  a  moment  to  consider  the  state  of  Ire- 
land at  this  period,  that  we  may  duly  estimate  the  task 
which  lay  before  this  apostle,  and  which  we  shall  find 
he  gloriously  accomplished.  The  neighbouring  island 
af  Britain,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  still  under  the 
Roman  yoke  ;  but,  as  before  remarked,  no  Roman 
soldier  had  ventured  to  cross  the  narrow  channel  be- 
tween Britain  and  Ireland  and  set  his  foot  upon  Irish 
soil.  To  Ireland,  then,  Rome  had  imparted  none  of 
her  civilization.  The  country  was,  in  fact,  in  a  state 
of  barbarism ;  the  government  was  the  same  as  that 
which  had  been  handed  down  for  centuries,  and  which 
continued  for  ages  after.  The  country  was  divided 
into  five  principal  kingdoms,  whose  chiefs  acknowl- 
edged a  nominal  allegiance  to  one  principal  sovereign 
who  was  monarch  of  the  realm.  But  there  were  still  a 
great  number  of  petty  chiefs,  also  claiming  the  title  of 
kings,  and  often  setting  up  for  independence,  or  dis- 
puting the  authority  of  their  accustomed  masters. 
The  wrangles  between  these  rival  powers  were  savage 
and  incessant ;  and  the  people  were  therefore  embroil- 
ed in  almost  constant  war.  Among  the  rapid  succes- 
sion of  princes,  history  tells  us  of  but  few  that  did  not 
die  by  violence.  In  some  of  the  dynasties,  whole 
centuries  pass,  affording  but  a  ghastly  record  of  mur- 
dering and  murdered  chiefs.  In  such  a  state  of  things, 
it  is  obvious  that  there  could  be  little  progress  in  the 


196  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 

arts  of  peace,  or  in  that  culture  which  proceeds  from 
the  diffusion  of  intellectual  light.  A  knowledge  of 
letters,  indeed,  is  said  to  have  existed  in  the  country, 
and  there  was,  no  doubt,  much  mystical  lore  among 
the  Druidical  priesthood,  who,  at  this  dark  period  of 
society,  appear  to  have  led  both  prince  and  people,  as 
their  cheated  and  deluded  captives,  whithersoever  they 
pleased.  The  dominion,  indeed,  of  these  artful  priests 
over  the  mind  of  the  nation  seems  to  have  been  abso- 
lute, and  they  exerted  it  with  unsparing  rigor.  The 
whole  people  were  subjected  to  an  oppressive  routine 
of  rites  and  ceremonies,  among  which  the  sacrifice  of 
human  victims  —  men,  women,  and  children  —  was 
common.  The  details  of  these  shocking  superstitions 
are,  indeed,  too  frightful  to  be  repeated  here.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say,  that  the  mission  of  St.  Patrick  con- 
templated the  conversion  of  a  nation,  wedded  to  these 
unholy  rites,  to  the  pure  and  peaceful  doctrines  of  the 
gospel.  He  came  alone,  armed  with  no  earthly  power, 
arrayed  in  no  visible  pomp,  to  overturn  the  cherished 
dynasty  of  ages  ;  to  beat  down  a  formidable  priest- 
hood ;  to  slay  the  many-headed  monster,  prejudice  ; 
to  draw  aside  the  thick  cloud  which  overspread  a  na- 
tion, and  permit  the  light  of  Heaven  to  shine  upon  it. 

There  was  something  in  the  very  conception  of  this 
noble  enterprise  which  marks  St.  Patrick  as  endowed 
with  the  true  spirit  of  an  apostle.  We  cannot  follow 
him  through  the  details  of  his  mission.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say,  that,  exercising  no  power  but  persuasion,  and 
using  no  weapon  but  truth,  he  proceeded  from  place 
to  place,  reasoning  with  the  people,  combating  the 
Druid,  and  preaching  to  the  prince.    It  was  on  one  of 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 


197 


these  occasions  that  he  is  said  to  have  illustrated  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  by  stooping  to  the  ground  and 
plucking  a  branch  of  trefoil,  or  three-leaved  clover, — 
maintaining  that  the  three  leaves  upon  one  stem  dis- 
played, in  nature,  a  trinity  combined  with  unity,  which 
might  fitly  represent  the  Triune  Deity  whom  he 
preached.  Thus,  by  his  zeal  and  address,  in  the  brief 
space  of  thirty  years,  St.  Patrick  introduced  Christiani- 
ty into  every  province  in  the  land,  and  that  without 
one  drop  of  bloodshed.  Everywhere  the  frowning 
altars  of  the  Druids  fell  before  him  ;  the  superstitious 
prince  did  homage  to  the  cross,  and  the  proud  priest 
of  the  sun  bent  his  knee  to  the  true  God.  Christianity 
was  thus  introduced  and  spread  over  Ireland  without 
violence,  and  by  the  agency  of  a  single  individual. 

Such  appear  to  be  the  true  character  and  history  of 
St.  Patrick,  divested  of  the  marvels  and  miracles  with 
which  superstition  has  embellished  them.  Such,  at 
least,  is  the  view  taken  by  the  Irish  historian  ;  *  and 
such  is  the  image  pictured  in  the  faith  or  fancy  of  the 
Irish  people.  And  where  is  thei'e  a  brighter  page  in 
history  than  this  ?  Where  is  there  a  life  more  enno- 
bled by  lofty  purposes,  more  illustrious  from  its  glori- 
ous results,  than  this  of  St.  Patrick  ?  Surely,  such  an 
individual  is  no  proper  theme  for  ridicule  or  contempt. 
If  we  Americans  do  homage  to  the  memory  of  Wash- 
ington, who  aided  in  delivering  our  country  from  tyr- 
anny, the  Irishman  may  as  justly  hold  dear  the  cher- 
ished recollections  of  him  who  redeemed  his  country 


*  This  is  substantially  the  account  given  of  St.  Patrick  by 
Thomas  Moore,  in  his  "  History  of  Ireland." 

17* 


198 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND. 


from  paganism.  Aside  from  the  immediate  benefits 
which  St.  Patrick  secured  to  Ireland,  he  has  left  to 
all  mankind  the  heritage  of  a  glorious  truth,  —  which 
is,  that,  in  contending  with  human  power,  human  pas- 
sions, and  human  depravity,  the  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ  needs  no  other  weapon  than  truth,  enforced  by 
holy  example.  He  has  left  us  an  imperishable  lesson 
of  wisdom,  —  that  moral  suasion  can  overturn  the  do- 
minion of  ignorance  and  prejudice,  which  might  for 
ever  hold  the  sword  at  bay. 


FRANCE. 


CHARLEMAGNE  AND  HIS  TIMES. 

A  DISTINGUISHED  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  world 
was  formed  by  Charlemagne,  the  only  prince,  as  re- 
marked by  Gibbon,  in  whose  favor  the  title  of  Great 
has  been  indissolubly  blended  with  the  name.  In  the 
dark  ages  of  European  history,  his  reign  affords  a  soli- 
tary resting-place  between  two  long  periods  of  turbu- 
lence and  ignominy.  He  stands  like  a  beacon  in  the 
waste,  or  a  rock  in  the  broad  ocean.  The  mighty  in- 
fluence which  he  exercised  upon  the  age,  the  illustri- 
ous families  which  have  prided  themselves  in  him  as 
their  progenitor,  the  very  legends  of  romance,  which 
are  full  of  his  fabulous  exploits,  have  cast  a  lustre 
around  his  head,  and  testify  the  greatness  that  has  em- 
bodied itself  in  his  name. 

Thick  darkness  had  settled  over  Europe  with  the 
irruption  of  the  barbarians  of  the  North.  A  long  race 
of  sovereigns,  called  in  history  the  Sluggard  Kings, 
exercised  a  nominal  sway  over  France ;  but  the  gov- 
ernment was  a  chaos,  formed  of  the  rude,  irregular, 
and  contending  passions  of  individuals.    The  dukes, 


200 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


the  counts,  the  bishops,  and  the  patricians  all  strug- 
gled for  their  own  aggrandizement.  There  was  no 
popular  party.  Letters,  science,  peace,  and  stability 
were  unknown.  The  seas  of  blood  which  were  pour- 
ed out  in  the  intestine  struggles  of  the  French  nobles 
had  washed  away  every  tincture  of  literature  which 
had  been  left  by  the  Romans  ;  commerce  and  industry 
were  crushed  under  the  iron  steps  of  civil  war.  No 
principle  of  law  or  justice  remained  to  check  the 
strong  or  to  protect  the  weak,  and  no  acknowledged 
power  of  legislation  existed  except  in  the  sword.  It 
would  be  difficult,  as  an  eminent  historian  has  remark- 
ed, to  find  anywhere  more  vice  or  less  virtue  than  in 
the  annals  of  the  Merovingian  dynasty.  Charles  Mar- 
tel,  mayor  of  the  palace,  under  Childeric  the  Second, 
reduced  this  chaos  to  a  certain  degree  of  order ;  but 
the  sciences  which  had  fled,  and  the  arts  which  had 
been  lost,  were  unrecovered,  till  a  brighter  era  opened, 
and  a  more  lofty  and  comprehensive  mind  awoke  to 
recall  the  treasures  of  former  days. 

This  was  Charlemagne,  or  Charles  the  Great,  a 
prince,  who,  like  Napoleon,  seemed  born  for  universal 
innovation,  and  who  exhibited  in  all  his  acts  that 
grandeur  of  conception  which  distinguishes  extraordi- 
nary minds.  We  see  him  conquering  barbarous  na- 
tions and  consolidating  a  great  empire,  reforming  the 
coinage  and  establishing  the  legal  divisions  of  money, 
gathering  around  him  the  learned  of  every  country, 
founding  schools  and  libraries,  interfering,  but  with  the 
tone  of  a  king,  in  religious  controversies,  undertaking, 
for  the  benefit  of  commerce,  the  magnificent  enterprise 
of  uniting  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  and  meditating  to 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


201 


mould  the  discordant  codes  of  Roman  and  barbarian 
laws  into  a  uniform  system. 

Charlemagne  was  born  in  the  year  742.  The  place 
of  his  birth  is  not  known,  some  writers  mentioning 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  others  the  castle  of  Ingelheim, 
near  Mentz.  A  great  obscurity  also  rests  over  the 
early  part  of  his  life.  No  records  of  his  education 
have  come  down  to  us,  nor  any  of  those  particulars 
of  his  early  years  which  are  generally  ornamented  by 
the  invention  and  fancy  of  biographers.  His  father, 
Pepin  the  Short,  mayor  of  the  palace,  assumed  the 
title  of  King  of  France  about  seven  years  after  the 
birth  of  Charles.  At  his  death,  in  768,  the  kingdom 
was  divided  between  Charles  and  his  brother  Carlo- 
man.  These  princes  quarrelled,  and  their  hostility 
would  have  produced  fatal  effects,  had  not  the  death  of 
Carloman,  in  771,  put  an  end  to  their  disputes.  This 
event  left  Charles,  without  a  struggle  or  a  crime,  sole 
monarch  of  the  Franks,  and  his  vast  and  ambitious 
genius  being  thus  freed  from  every  check,  he  was 
placed  in  a  condition  to  plan  those  great  political 
schemes  which  have  conferred  immortality  on  the 
name  of  Charlemagne. 

His  reign  lasted  forty-six  years,  and  was  a  con- 
tinued series  of  victories,  political  reforms,  and  re- 
markable events,  which,  in  the  midst  of  barbarism, 
offer  to  our  view  objects  worthy  of  absorbing  our  whole 
attention.  Previous  to  the  death  of  his  father  he  had 
distinguished  himself  as  a  warrior  by  the  defeat  of 
Hunalde,  the  revolted  Duke  of  Aquitaine.  On  his  ac- 
cession to  the  throne  of  the  Franks,  he  was  in  the 
flower  of  his  age,  remarkably  tall,  robust,  and  active, 


202 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


in  the  full  vigor  both  of  his  physical  and  intellectual 
faculties.  The  first  military  exploit  of  the  king  was 
a  campaign  against  the  Saxons.  France  had  long 
been  at  war  with  this  people,  who  preserved  all  the  fe- 
rocity of  the  German  manners,  while  their  courage  was 
further  sustained  by  the  love  of  liberty.  Pepin  had 
subjected  them  to  tribute,  and  compelled  them  to  re- 
ceive Christian  missionaries  ;  but  they  felt  the  strongest 
reluctance  to  pay  the  one  and  embrace  the  religion  of 
the  other.  These  barbarians  having  massacred  some 
of  the  missionaries,  Charlemagne  took  up  arms  against 
them  m  772.  Though  often  defeated,  the  Saxons  still 
rebelled,  their  general,  the  celebrated  Witikind,  inces- 
santly exciting  their  ardor  for  war,  and  their  love  of 
independence.  In  the  first  campaign,  he  gained  a 
complete  victory  over  the  French.  Charlemagne  took 
a  cruel  revenge  by  the  massacre  of  Verdun,  when  up- 
wards of  four  thousand  chief  men  of  the  Saxons  were 
beheaded.  Witikind,  after  being  defeated  with  great 
slaughter  in  several  battles,  made  his  submission  and 
embraced  Christianity.  But,  though  he  kept  his  en- 
gagements with  fidelity,  he  never  could  tame  the  fierce 
spirit  of  his  countrymen.  They  often  submitted,  and 
as  often  revolted ;  but,  at  last,  after  a  war  of  thirty 
years,  they  were  entirely  subjugated  by  transplanting 
many  thousand  families  of  them  into  Flanders  and 
other  countries.  The  most  resolute  fled  into  Scandi- 
navia, carrying  with  them  an  implacable  hatred  of  the 
dominion  and  religion  of  the  Franks. 

Every  nation  in  Germany  that  dared  to  offer  the 
least  resistance  sunk  under  the  arms  of  the  French 
conqueror.    The  Duke  of  Bavaria,  having  rebelled, 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


203 


was  stripped  of  his  dominions.  The  Sclavonians  in 
Pomerania  were  subdued.  The  Huns,  or  Avars,  who 
had  settled  in  Hungary,  were  driven  beyond  the 
Eaab.  Charlemagne  needed  only  show  himself  in 
order  to  disperse  his  enemies.  In  all  his  wars,  the 
newly  conquered  nations,  or  those  whom  fear  had 
made  his  dependent  allies,  were  employed  to  subjugate 
their  neighbours,  and  the  incessant  waste  of  fatigue 
and  the  sword  was  supplied  by  a  fresh  population  that 
swelled  the  expanding  circle  of  dominion. 

The  conqueror  looked  upon  Christianity  as  the  best 
instrument  for  softening  the  barbarous  manners  of  a 
ferocious  people,  without  reflecting  that  Christians  ara 
not  made  by  violence.  His  laws  for  the  Saxons  strike 
us  as  almost  equally  barbarous  with  their  own  man- 
ners. He  obliged  them  to  receive  baptism  on  pain  of 
death,  and  made  it  a  capital  offence  to  break  the  fas'? 
of  Lent ;  in  a  word,  substituting  force  instead  of  per- 
suasion. It  must  not  be  concealed  that  the  great  quali 
ties  of  Charlemagne  were  alloyed  by  the  vices  of  f 
barbarian  and  a  conqueror.  This  union  of  brute  vio 
lence  with  grand  schemes  and  elevated  views  of  na- 
tional improvement  has  something  like  a  modern  par- 
allel in  the  person  of  Peter  of  Russia;  yet  the  sovereign 
of  the  Franks  must  be  ranked  far  above  the  Czar. 

The  Saxon  wars  were  spread  over  a  great  part  of 
the  reign  of  Charlemagne.  Other  wars  and  conquests 
in  the  mean  time  occupied  his  arms.  In  773,  he 
marched  into  Italy,  on  the  pretext  of  delivering  the 
Holy  See  from  the  oppression  of  the  Lombards.  Lay- 
ing siege  at  the  same  time  to  the  cities  of  Verona  and 
Pavia,  he  captured,  in  the  former,  the  widow  and  child- 


204 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


reii  of  his  brother  Carloman,  who  had  sought  refuge  in 
Italy  from  his  jealousy.  In  Pavia,  he  gained  posses- 
sion of  the  person  of  Desiderius,  king  of  the  Lombards, 
whom  he  carried  prisoner  to  France,  thus  completely 
extinguishing  the  Lombard  monarchy.  During  the 
siege  of  Pavia,  he  took  up  his  march  for  Rome  with  a 
considerable  portion  of  his  army,  and  an  immense 
train  of  bishops,  priests,  and  nobles.  Shouts  and  songs 
of  triumph  greeted  him  on  the  way.  Towns,  castles, 
and  villages  poured  forth  their  inhabitants  to  see  him 
pass.  The  noble,  the  citizen,  and  the  serf  joined  in 
acclamations  to  welcome  the  conqueror  of  the  Lom- 
bards, and  expiring  Italy  seemed  to  revive  at  the  glo- 
rious aspect  of  the  victor.  Thirty  miles  from  the  city, 
he  was  met  by  all  those  who  could  still  boast  of  gen- 
erous blood  in  Rome,  with  ensigns  and  banners;  and  at 
a  mile's  distance  from  the  walls,  all  the  schools  came 
forth  to  receive  him,  bearing  branches  of  palm  and 
olive,  and  singing  in  the  sweet  Roman  tongue  the 
praises  of  their  deliverer.  Since  the  days  of  her  an- 
cient splendor,  never  had  Rome  beheld  such  a  specta- 
cle as  entered  her  gates  with  the  monarch  of  the 
Franks.  Pope  Adrian  the  First  recognized  him  as 
Patrician  of  Rome,  and  King  of  Italy.  At  the  surren- 
der of  Pavia,  he  was  crowned  with  the  diadem  of  the 
Lombard  monarchs,  the  iron  crown,  which  has  in  our 
day  encircled  the  brows  of  Napoleon.  After  an  expe- 
dition of  fifteen  months  he  returned  to  France. 

The  ambition  of  Charlemagne  was  excited  in  a  dif- 
ferent quarter  in  778,  when  several  Moorish  chiefs  in 
the  northwestern  parts  of  Spain  implored  his  protec- 
tion and  invited  him  to  accept  their  vassalage.  He 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


205 


assembled  an  army  in  Aquitaine,  crossed  the  Pyrenees, 
penetrated  as  far  as  Saragossa,  captured  that  city,  and 
received  the  submission  of  all  the  neighbouring  lords. 
But  his  return  to  France  was  signalized  by  a  disaster 
which  has  afforded  a  copious  theme  for  poetry  and 
romance,  —  the  defeat  of  Roncesvalles,  —  where,  in 
the  exaggerated  language  of  Milton, 

"  Charlemagne  and  all  his  peerage  fell, 
By  Fontarabia." 

News  of  threatened  hostilities  on  the  Rhenish  fron- 
tier caused  him  to  hasten  his  march  homeward.  Di- 
viding his  army  into  two  bodies,  he  advanced  in  person 
at  the  head  of  the  first  division,  leaving  all  the  baggage 
with  the  rear  guard,  which  comprised  a  strong  force, 
and  was  commanded  by  some  of  the  most  renowned 
of  his  chieftains,  among  whom  was  Roland  or  Orlan- 
do, the  nephew  of  Charlemagne.  Mounted  on  heavy 
horses,  and  loaded  with  a  complete  armor  of  iron,  the 
soldiers  pursued  their  march  through  the  narrow  passes 
of  the  Pyrenees,  without  suspecting  the  neighbourhood 
of  an  enemy.  The  king  himself,  with  the  first  division, 
issued  from  these  intricate  defiles  and  trackless  woods 
unmolested  ;  but  when  the  rear  body,  following  leis- 
urely at  a  considerable  distance,  had  reached  the  wild 
and  narrow  valley  of  Roncesvalles,  the  woods  and 
rocks  around  them  suddenly  bristled  into  life,  and  they 
were  attacked  on  all  sides  by  the  perfidious  Gascons, 
whose  light  arms,  swift  arrows,  and  knowledge  of  the 
country  gave  them  every  advantage  over  their  oppo- 
nents. 

In  the  first  panic  and  confusion,  the  Franks  were 
VIII,— 18 


206 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


driven  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  pass,  embarrassed 
both  by  their  arms  and  baggage.  The  Gascons  pressed 
them  on  every  point,  and  slaughtered  them  Hke  a  herd 
of  deer,  singling  them  out  with  their  arrows  from  above, 
and  rolling  down  the  rocks  upon  their  heads.  Never 
wanting  in  courage,  the  Franks  fought  to  the  last  man, 
and  died  unconquered.  Orlando  and  his  companions, 
after  innumerable  deeds  of  valor,  were  slain  with  the 
rest ;  and  the  Gascons,  satiated  with  carnage  and  rich 
m  plunder,  dispersed  among  the  mountains,  leaving 
Charlemagne  to  seek  fruitlessly  for  vengeance. 

During  the  lapse  of  many  centuries,  tradition  has 
hung  about  this  famous  spot,  and  the  memory  of  Or- 
lando and  his  companions  has  been  consecrated  in  a 
thousand  shapes  throughout  the  country.  The  Casque 
de  Roland  is  the  name  of  a  mountain  flower  of  the 
Pyrenees.  The  stroke  of  his  sword  is  shown  upon  the 
rocks.  The  tales  and  superstitions  of  the  district  are 
full  of  his  exploits  and  fame.  Ariosto,  on  the  slight 
basis  which  history  affords,  has  raised  up  the  splendid 
structure  of  his  immortal  poem,  and  inscribed  it  with 
the  name  of  Orlando  ;  but,  without  this,  that  name 
would  still  have  been  repeated  through  all  the  valleys 
of  the  Pyrenees,  and  ornamented  with  the  fictions 
of  a  thousand  years. 

The  year  800  was  rendered  memorable  by  the  crown- 
ing of  Charlemagne  as  Emperor  of  the  West.  Leo 
the  Third,  who  succeeded  Adrian,  in  796,  immediately 
on  his  accession,  sent  the  king  the  standard  of  Rome, 
requesting  him  to  despatch  some  person  to  that  city  to 
receive  the  allegiance  of  the  inhabitants.  Three  years 
after,  two  men  of  considerable  rank  among  the  clergy. 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


207 


relations  of  the  deceased  Pope,  and  enemies  of  Leo, 
made  an  accusation  against  him,  attacked  him  in  the 
street,  overwhelmed  him  with  blows,  attempted  to  tear 
out  his  eyes  and  tongue,  and  shut  him  up,  half  killed, 
in  the  dungeon  of  a  monastery.  He  found  means  to 
escape,  and  fled  to  Charlemagne,  who  sent  him  back 
with  the  greatest  honors,  and,  shortly  after,  followed 
him  to  Italy.  On  Christmas  day,  800,  while  the  king 
was  attending  mass  in  St.  Peter's  church,  the  Pope,  in 
the  midst  of  the  service,  at  the  moment  when  the  mon- 
arch was  kneeling  at  the  altar,  suddenly  placed  on  his 
head  an  imperial  crown,  and  the  multitude  instantly 
shouted,  "  Long  life  and  victory  to  Charles  Augustus, 
crowned  by  God,  great  and  pacific  Emperor  of  the 
Romans !  "  We  are  assured  that  Charlemagne  was 
taken  by  surprise  on  this  occasion,  and  that  he  declar- 
ed he  would  not  have  gone  to  church  that  day,  had  he 
suspected  the  design.  Those  who  choose  may  believe 
the  story  ;  what  we  are  sure  of  is,  that  he  did  not 
shake  the  diadem  from  his  brows. 

Charlemagne,  Emperor  of  the  West,  by  his  splendid 
title,  his  martial  successes,  the  extent  of  his  dominions, 
and  the  wisdom  of  his  government,  had  now  become 
famous  throughout  the  civilized  world.  He  was  not 
only  respected  by  the  Moors  of  Spain,  but  even  the 
hf>ughty  and  potent  Caliph  Haroun  Al  Raschid  sent 
him  an  embassy  of  friendship,  and  a  variety  of  rich 
presents.  The  description  of  one  of  these  will  show 
the  perfection  to  which  the  mechanic  arts  had  reached 
among  the  Arabians  of  that  age.  It  was  a  clock  of 
gilt  bronze,  round  which  the  course  of  the  twelve  hours 
was  exhibited  ;  at  the  end  of  each  hour,  the  number 


208 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


of  brazen  balls  which  were  requisite  to  mark  the  time 
were  thrown  out  from  above,  and,  falling  one  after  an- 
other into  a  cymbal  below,  struck  the  hour  required. 
In  like  manner,  a  number  of  horsemen  issued  from 
windows  around  the  dial.  An  unbroken  friendship 
and  sincere  admiration  existed  between  these  two 
great  monarchs  of  the  East  and  West,  during  all  the 
remainder  of  their  respective  reigns.  Haroun  not  only 
protected  the  Christian  pilgrims  who  resorted  to  Jeru- 
salem, but  he  sent  to  Charlemagne  the  keys  of  the 
holy  places  and  a  standard,  as  a  mark  of  sovereignty 
in  that  city. 

The  empire  of  Charlemagne  attained  nearly  the 
extent  of  that  of  ancient  Rome  in  Europe.  To  the 
kingdom  of  France,  which  then  comprised  the  Low 
Countries  and  all  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  he  added 
Aquitaine,  Gascony,  the  country  of  the  Pyrenees,  and 
Catalonia.  In  Italy,  as  King  of  the  Lombards  and  Pa- 
trician of  Rome,  he  reigned  from  the  Alps  to  the 
borders  of  Calabria.  He  united  under  his  sceptre 
all  the  nations  of  Germany,  the  pagan  tribes  on  the 
northwest  and  the  borders  of  Poland  excepted ;  and, 
by  his  conquest  of  the  Avars,  he  obtained  possession 
of  Hungary,  Transylvania,  Istria,  Croatia,  and  most 
of  Dalmatia.  He  was  indefatigable  in  his  application 
to  the  cares  of  government.  His  love  of  learning 
and  his  liberal  efforts  to  promote  it  were  wonderful  in 
that  unlettered  age.  He  collected  scholars  from  all 
parts,  and  placed  them  at  the  head  of  institutions  for 
education.  In  particular,  he  invited  the  famous  Al- 
cuin  from  England,  made  him  his  companion,  and  fol- 
lowed his  advice  in  all  matters  for  the  promotion  of 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


209 


letters  and  science.  He  instituted  a  sort  of  academy 
in  his  court,  every  member  of  which  assumed  some 
celebrated  name  of  antiquity.  He  collected  all  the 
ancient  songs  relative  to  the  history  of  the  Franks  and 
Germans,  and,  while  at  his  meals,  caused  to  be  read  to 
him  passages  from  history  or  the  writings  of  the 
Fathers.  His  own  education  had  been  neglected  in 
his  youth,  yet  his  ardor  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge 
was  such  that  he  applied  himself  to  the  driest  and  most 
rudimentary  parts  of  a  schoolboy's  studies  after  his 
arrival  at  manhood.  His  knowledge  of  Latin  and 
Greek  is  said  to  have  been  perfect ;  the  former  he 
spoke  as  fluently  as  his  vernacular  tongue. 

Charlemagne  died  in  814,  in  the  seventy-second 
year  of  his  age.  His  life  was  a  life  of  improvement 
on  all  that  immediately  preceded  him.  He  was  great 
both  in  war  and  peace.  War  was  deemed  a  neces- 
sity of  the  age  and  country  ;  the  Franks  could  hardly 
have  been  governed  without  it.  This  prince,  happily 
for  himself  and  for  his  people,  brought  with  him  to 
the  throne  talents  adapted  to  his  position,  and,  hap- 
pily for  the  world,  possessed  likewise  the  spirit  of 
civilization  and  improvement.  His  great  success  in 
civilization  was  all  his  own.  He  took  possession  of  a 
kingdom  torn  by  factions,  surrounded  by  enemies,  des- 
olated by  long  wars,  disorganized  by  intestine  strife, 
and  as  profoundly  ignorant  as  the  absence  of  all  litera- 
ture could  make  it.  By  the  continual  and  indefatigable 
exertion  of  his  mental  and  corporeal  powers,  he  restor- 
ed order  and  harmony,  formed  a  great  empire,  estab- 
hshed  internal  tranquillity,  and  raised  up  science  and 
arts.  His  highest  eulogy  is  written  in^the  calamities 
14  18* 


210 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


of  preceding  and  subsequent  times.  Those  were  ages 
of  great  misery  to  the  people,  the  severets,  perhaps, 
that  Europe  has  ever  known.  The  reign  of  Charle- 
magne was  a  relief  to  the  general  suffering  of  Christen- 
dom. Even  under  his  sway,  we  have  proofs  of  no 
trifling  calamities  endured  by  the  people.  The  light 
which  shone  around  him  was  that  of  a  consuming  fire. 
After  his  death,  France  was  doomed  to  another  age  of 
darkness.  Italy  fell  into  worse  disorders  than  before  ; 
but  Germany,  which  owed  its  redemption  from  the 
night  of  barbarism  solely  to  his  genius,  received  light 
which  has  continued  unextinguished  to  the  present  day. 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


THE  CRUSADES.* 


Peter  the  Hermit  and  his  Followers. 


The  history  of  mankind  offers  few  events  more 
striking  than  the  Crusades,  an  enterprise  which  in  its 
day  was  esteemed  the  noblest  effort  of  piety  and  zeal, 
but  which  in  the  present  age  is  regarded  as  a  stupend- 
ous monument  of  human  folly.  Such  is  the  stern 
severity  with  which  a  cool  and  calculating  posterity 


*  We  have  placed  this  article  amid  the  sketches  drawn  from 
the  history  of  France,  partly  because  the  French  princes, 
knights,  and  nobles  took  so  large  a  share  in  the  Crusades,  and 
partly  to  give  them  a  proper  place  in  relation  to  other  import- 
ant topics  which  are  presented  to  the  reader. 


212 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


will  reverse  the  judgment  passed  by  an  age  upon  itself. 
All  Europe  combined  for  once,  and  for  once  only,  in 
a  common  undertaking  ;  yet  Europe  was  in  the  end 
unsuccessful.  A  view  of  the  heroic  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity, in  regard  to  their  grand  and  general  results,  is 
a  useful  and  important,  but  a  melancholy  lesson.  The 
crusades  were  a  Holy  War,  a  war  undertaken  from 
the  impulse  of  religious  feelings ;  yet  this  war  was 
most  savage  and  cruel.  The  whole  enterprise  retard- 
ed the  march  of  civilization,  thickened  the  clouds  of 
superstition,  and  encouraged  intolerance,  cruelty,  and 
fierceness.  Religion  lost  its  mildness  and  charity,  and 
even  its  mitigating  qualities  of  honor  and  courtesy. 
The  wars  of  the  crusades  do  not  seem  to  have  had  the 
effect  which  has  attended  other  great  wars,  that  of 
rousing  Europe  from  intellectual  torpidity,  and  strength- 
ening and  refining  the  tone  of  mind.  Those  were 
times  of  action  rather  than  of  letters.  Spoliation  and 
slaughter  were  accounted  the  highest  pitch  of  human 
glory,  and  all  that  in  reality  merited  fame  and  applause 
was  hid  in  silence  and  obscurity.  Modes  for  the  de- 
struction of  men,  and  not  for  their  improvement,  occu- 
pied the  minds  of  Christians. 

The  fanatic  enthusiasm  of  an  obscure  individual 
first  set  the  ball  in  motion,  which  rolled  with  such 
impetuous  force  from  Europe  into  Asia.  Peter,  a 
hermit  of  Picardy,  on  his  return  from  a  pilgrimage  to 
Jerusalem,  represented  the  condition  of  the  Holy  City, 
and  the  cruel  oppressions  suffered  by  the  Christians 
there,  in  such  lively  colors  to  Pope  Urban  the  Second, 
that  this  pontiff  countenanced  him  in  a  project  to  set 
both  kings  and  people  in  motion  for  the  recovery  of 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


213 


the  sepulchre  of  Christ.  This  hermit,  of  a  hideous 
figure,  covered  with  rags,  walking  barefooted,  speak- 
ing as  a  prophet,  and  hearkened  to  as  such,  inspired 
the  people  everywhere  with  an  enthusiasm  similar  to 
his  own.  The  Pope  held  a  council  at  Placentia,  in 
Italy,  in  1095,  to  determine  upon  the  expedition. 
Thousands  of  people  flocked  to  this  meeting,  and  ap- 
proved of  the  proposal.  But  the  most  vivid  demon- 
stration was  made  at  the  council  of  Clermont,  in  France, 
the  same  year.  The  Pope  preached  up  the  Holy  War 
as  the  means  of  wiping  away  all  offences  which  the 
people  had  committed.  He  placed  all  who  took  up 
arms  under  the  protection  of  the  Church,  and  prom- 
ised that  God  would  give  them  victory,  and  the  spoils 
of  the  Mussulmans.  The  assembly  set  up  a  shout. 
"  It  is  the  will  of  God  !  "  echoed  from  every  quarter, 
and  French  vivacity  was  instantly  aroused  to  the  high- 
est pitch  of  enthusiasm. 

Every  class  of  people,  old  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, entered  into  the  cause  with  the  same  lively  spirit. 
The  promise  of  pardon  for  sins,  and  the  influence 
of  curiosity,  the  love  of  adventure,  the  hope  of  gain- 
ing thrones  and  dominions,  and  the  certain  expectation 
of  sitting  in  the  next  world  as  judges  over  the  infidels, 
were  the  moving  causes  which  incited  persons  of  every 
rank  to  rush  by  hundreds  of  thousands  into  this  un- 
dertaking. 

All  the  wars  of  the  European  powers  among  them- 
selves were  laid  aside  for  the  prosecution  of  this  gen- 
eral war  against  the  infidels.  People  sold  their  estates 
to  defray  the  expense  of  equipping  themselves  for  the 
march  ;  and  the  churches  and  monasteries  were  en- 


214 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


riched  by  the  purchase  of  vast  quantities  of  property 
at  a  low  price.  The  multitude  of  people  who  enlisted 
would  exceed  all  belief,  were  we  not  aware  of  the 
strength  of  the  motives  and  passions  which  incited 
them  to  action.  Contemporary  historians  estimate  the 
number  of  those  who  embarked  in  the  first  crusade  at 
six  millions  ;  the  most  moderate  computation  is  one 
million  three  hundred  thousand.  They  marched  with 
a  red  cross  sewed  on  their  clothes,  from  which  was 
derived  the  name  of  croisade  or  crusade.  When  the 
cross  had  once  been  taken,  the  wearers  were  obliged 
to  march,  under  pain  of  excommunication  ;  but  this 
badge  gained  them  a  dispensation  from  all  penance. 
Thousands  of  the  most  profligate  and  abandoned 
wretches  found,  in  this  manner,  a  plenary  indulgence 
for  all  their  crimes,  and  probably  no  band  of  professed 
pirates  and  freebooters  ever  contained  a  more  atrocious 
set  of  villains  than  the  armies  of  the  first  crusaders. 
Peter  the  Hermit,  with  sandals  on  his  feet,  a  rope  about 
his  middle,  acting  both  as  prophet  and  general,  and  per- 
suaded that  God  would  work  miracles  to  supply  all  their 
wants,  was  the  first  that  set  out,  at  the  head  of  eighty 
thousand  men  without  provisions  or  discipline.  The 
command  was  shared  with  him  by  a  poor  gentleman 
called  W alter  the  Penniless.  These  banditti  committed 
the  most  dreadful  outrages  on  their  march  through  Hun- 
gary and  Bulgaria,  and  were  almost  exterminated  by 
the  inhabitants  before  they  reached  Constantinople. 
Godeschald,  a  German  priest,  followed  next  with  a 
similar  rabble.  These  let  loose  their  pious  fury  upon  the 
Jews,  thousands  of  whom  they  massacred  in  cold  blood. 
After  this,  they  pillaged  everybody  without  distinction, 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


215 


till  the  inhabitants  rose  and  cut  them  nearly  all  off. 
Of  both  these  armies,  about  twenty  thousand  starving 
wretches  at  length  reached  Constantinople. 

With  the  assistance  of  the  Greek  Emperor  Alexius, 
they  crossed  the  Bosphorus,  and,  in  spite  of  his  pru- 
dential warnings,  divided  their  forces  to  plunder  the 
Turkish  provinces  of  Asia  Minor.  In  order  to  decoy 
them  into  a  snare,  the  sultan  caused  a  report  to  be 
spread,  that  Nice,  his  capital,  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  an  advanced  body  of  crusaders.  Allured  by  the 
prospect  of  sharing  in  the  spoils  of  this  city,  they 
blindly  rushed  into  the  heart  of  a  hostile  country  ;  but 
when  they  descended  into  the  plain  of  Nice,  instead 
of  being  welcomed  by  the  sight  of  the  Christian  ban- 
ners on  its  walls,  they  found  themselves  surrounded  by 
the  Turkish  cavalry.  In  the  first  onset,  Walter  fell 
bravely,  covered  with  wounds  ;  the  disorderly  multi- 
tude was  immediately  overwhelmed  and  slaughtered  ; 
a  remnant  of  three  thousand  escaped  by  flight  to  the 
nearest  Byzantine  fortress  ;  and  a  huge  mound,  in 
which  the  victors  piled  the  bones  of  the  slain,  formed 
an  ominous  monument  of  disaster  for  succeeding  hosts 
of  crusaders. 

The  numbers,  the  gross  superstition,  the  licentious 
wickedness,  and  the  miserable  extirpation  of  this  fa- 
natical horde,  were  surpassed  by  what  was  exhibited 
in  the  composition  and  conduct  of  another  division  of 
the  rabble  of  Europe.  From  France,  from  the  Rhen- 
ish provinces,  from  Flanders,  and  from  the  British 
islands,  there  gathered,  on  the  western  confines  of  Ger- 
many, one  huge  mass  of  the  vilest  refuse  of  these 
nations,  amounting  to  two  hundred  thousand  persons. 


216 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


Some  bands  of  nobles,  with  their  mounted  followers, 
were  not  ashamed  to  accompany  their  march,  and 
share  their  prey ;  but  their  leaders  are  undistinguisha- 
ble,  and  the  most  authentic  contemporary  records  of 
their  proceedings  compel  us  to  repeat  the  incredible 
assertion,  that  their  movements  were  guided  by  a  goat 
and  a  goose,  which  were  believed  to  be  divinely  in- 
spired. The  actions  of  these  brutal  wretches  were  as 
detestable  as  their  superstition  was  blind  and  unholy. 
Under  pretence  of  beginning  the  Holy  War  by  extir- 
minating  the  enemies  of  God  in  Europe,  they  let  loose 
their  fury  on  the  Jews.  The  most  horrible  scenes  of 
murder,  rapine,  and  spoliation  marked  every  step  of 
their  course  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Danube.  But  in 
the  hour  of  danger  they  proved  as  dastardly  as  they 
had  been  ferocious.  On  crossing  the  Danube,  they 
were  met  by  a  Hungarian  army.  Struck  by  a  sudden 
panic,  they  took  to  flight ;  an  unresisted  slaughter  fol- 
lowed, and  so  great  was  the  carnage,  that  the  Danube 
was  choked  with  the  bodies  of  the  slain,  and  its  waters 
were  dyed  with  their  blood.  The  remnant  that  es- 
caped saved  their  lives  only  by  flight  and  dispersion. 

The  first  disasters  of  the  crusades  thus  swept  an 
immense  mass  of  corruption  from  the  surface  of  so- 
ciety. The  genuine  spirit  of  religious  and  martial 
enthusiasm  was  more  slowly  evolved.  The  real  hero 
of  the  first  crusade  is  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  a  brave 
and  accomplished  French  knight.  His  march  from  the 
banks  of  the  Moselle  was  conducted  with  admirable 
prudence  and  order,  by  the  same  route  which  had 
proved  so  calamitous  to  the  preceding  rabble.  The 
mailed  and  organized  chivalry  of  Europe  now  began 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


217 


to  array  itself  for  the  mighty  contest.  Many  princely 
and  noble  leaders  took  the  cross.  Martial  conduct  and 
discipline  secured  them  from  the  disasters  of  their 
predecessors,  and  a  respectable  force  of  crusaders  was 
soon  collected  in  Asia  Minor,  where  several  large 
cities  fell  into  their  hands.  But  the  Turkish  hordes 
now  flocked  from  all  quarters  to  the  standard  of  the 
sultan.  Immense  armies  encountered  each  other  in 
the  plains  of  Asia  Minor.  The  sieges,  the  battles,  and 
the  vicissitudes  of  this  gigantic  war  must,  in  a  great 
measure,  be  passed  over  in  our  brief  narrative  ;  we 
can  only  relate  a  few  prominent  events. 

At  Antioch,  in  1099,  the  Christians  were  besieged 
by  two  hundred  thousand  infidels.  The  miracle  of  the 
Holy  Lance  revived  their  drooping  courage,  and  saved 
the  city,  A  priest  declared  that  he  had  been  favored 
with  a  revelation  of  the  place  where  the  lance  which 
pierced  the  side  of  Jesus  Christ  was  buried.  The 
people  followed  him ;  the  earth  was  dug,  the  head  of 
a  lance  was  found,  and  the  multitude  exclaimed,  "  A 
miracle  !  a  miracle  !  "  An  attack  on  the  enemy  was 
immediately  resolved  upon.  The  holy  lance,  carried 
into  the  fight,  inspired  the  troops  with  heroic  valor, 
and  the  infidels  were  defeated  by  the  help  of  another 
miracle.  Three  knights,  in  white  garments  and  shin- 
ing armor,  issued,  or  seemed  to  issue,  from  the  hills 
adjoining  the  field  of  battle  ;  and  the  papal  legate,  who 
bore  the  holy  lance,  immediately  proclaimed  them  the 
martyrs  St.  George,  St.  Theodore,  and  St.  Maurice. 
The  tumult  of  battle  allowed  no  time  for  doubt  or 
scrutiny  ;  and  the  triumph  of  the  crusaders  was  com- 
plete. 

VIII.— 19 


218 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


In  the  end  of  April,  1099,  the  army  of  the  crusaders 
reached  Jerusalem,  forty  thousand  in  number,  having 
lost  more  than  eight  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  on 
their  march.  Thirty-nine  days  they  lay  before  the 
city,  and  on  the  7th  of  June  they  made  a  general 
assault.  Battering-rams,  towers,  and  military  engines 
were  directed  against  the  walls  ;  the  besieged  met  the 
assailants  with  darts,  stones,  and  the  Greek  fire.  The 
Christians  were  repulsed,  but  a  miracle  was  again  em- 
ployed to  revive  their  courage.  At  the  moment  when 
all  appeared  to  be  lost,  a  knight  was  seen  on  Mount  Oli- 
vet, waving  his  glittering  shield,  as  a  sign  for  the  soldiers 
to  rally  and  return  to  the  charge.  The  languishing 
spirit  of  enthusiasm  was  revived,  and  they  renewed  the 
battle  with  increased  animation.  At  the  hour  of  the 
day  when  the  Saviour  was  crucified,  a  soldier  leaped 
upon  the  inner  wall ;  his  brother  followed  ;  and  Godfrey 
was  the  third  Christian  who  stood  as  a  conqueror  upon 
the  fortifications  of  Jerusalem.  The  banner  of  the 
cross  now  streamed  from  the  wall,  the  gates  were 
burst  open,  and  the  Holy  City  was  taken. 

The  capture  of  Jerusalem  was  disgraced  by  all  the 
horrid  cruelties  which  might  be  expected  from  a  horde 
of  fanatics  maddened  with  the  excitement  of  battle. 
The  conquerors  put  all  to  the  sword  without  distinc- 
tion. The  Mussulmans  fought  in  the  streets  for  a  while, 
and  then  fled  to  their  temples  and  submitted  their  necks 
to  the  slaughter.  Arms  protected  not  the  brave,  nor 
submission  the  timid.  No  age  or  sex  was  spared. 
Infants  perished  by  the  same  sword  that  pierced  their 
mothers.  The  streets  were  encumbered  by  heaps  of 
the  slain ;  and  such  was  the  carnage  in  the  mosque  of 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


219 


Omar,  that  the  mutilated  carcasses  were  floated  by 
torrents  of  blood  into  the  court,  and  the  Christian  cav- 
aliers rode  in  the  sanguine  tide  up  to  their  horses' 
knees.  Seventy  thousand  persons  were  massacred ; 
and  the  Jews  were  all  burnt  in  their  own  synagogues. 
The  remainder  of  the  narrative  exhibits  a  contrast  of 
barbarity  and  piety  which  strikingly  depicts  the  man- 
ners of  the  age.  These  triumphant  warriors,  glutted 
with  slaughter,  threw  aside  their  arms  yet  streaming 
with  blood,  and  advanced,  with  naked  feet  and  bended 
knees,  to  the  sepulchre  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  sung, 
anthems  to  that  Redeemer  who  had  purchased  their 
salvation  by  his  death,  and,  while  insensible  to  the 
calamities  of  their  fellow-creatures,  were  dissolved  in 
tears  for  the  sufferings  of  the  Messiah.  Such  are  the 
inconsistencies  of  human  nature. 

Godfrey  of  Bouillon  was  elected  King  of  Jerusalem. 
A  Christian  kingdom  was  established,  and  the  laws, 
language,  and  manners  of  Europe  were  planted  in 
Palestine.  In  vain  the  Fatimite  Caliph  Mostali  drew 
out  his  forces  to  oppose  the  crusaders  in  the  field  of 
Ascalon,  and  in  vain  the  Seljukian  Turks  withstood 
them  at  Antioch.  Religious  enthusiasm  incited  the 
Christians  to  almost  supernatural  exertions,  and  they 
maintained  themselves  in  their  conquest  for  a  period 
of  nearly  two  centuries.  In  its  largest  extent,  the  Latin 
kingdom  of  Palestine  spread  from  the  Mediterranean 
to  the  desert  of  Arabia,  and  from  the  mountains  of 
Armenia  to  the  confines  of  Egypt.  The  lands  were 
parcelled  out  among  the  crusaders  agreeably  to  the 
principles  of  the  feudal  system.  Sometimes  the  con- 
quered Mussulmans  were  allowed  to  live  as  tributaries, 


220 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


but  generally  the  towns  were  exclusively  occupied  by 
the  Christians.  The  mercantile  cities  of  Italy,  and  the 
people  of  the  North  of  Europe  cooperated  with  the 
crusaders  in  forming  the  kingdom.  France,  Italy,  and 
Germany  poured  forth  their  hosts  as  soon  as  the 
Western  World  had  been  blessed  with  the  news  that 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  was  in  the  hands  of  the  faithful. 
The  new  champions  of  the  cross  encountered,  but  sunk 
under,  the  horrors  of  Asia  Minor.  The  sword  of  the 
enemy,  famine,  and  disease  swept  from  the  earth 
more  than  four  hundred  thousand  of  these  fanatical 
adventurers. 

Three  monastic  and  military  orders,  the  Hospital- 
lers, the  Templars,  and  the  Teutonic  Knights,  were 
instituted  at  Jerusalem  to  protect  the  pilgrims  from  the 
attacks  of  the  Turks.  These  institutions  were  charac- 
teristic of  an  age  in  which  the  sacred  was  so  confound- 
ed with  the  profane,  that  it  was  thought  the  virtues  of 
the  monk  might  be  combined  with  the  qualities  of  the 
soldier.  The  new  orders,  loaded  with  wealth  and 
particular  privileges,  in  a  short  time  became  greedy, 
licentious,  and  insolent,  enemies  of  one  another,  and 
by  their  mutual  hatred  weakened  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

Eight  different  crusades  were  set  on  foot,  one  after 
another,  and  the  rage  for  making  war  upon  the  infi- 
dels continued  for  nearly  two  centuries.  But  within  a 
century  from  its  foundation  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem 
began  to  decline.  Incessant  attacks  by  the  Mussulmans 
consumed  the  resources  of  the  crusaders,  and  at  length 
the  city  was  captured  by  Sultan  Saladin,  in  1187. 
After  this  loss  the  metropolis  was  established  at  Acre, 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


221 


and  the  kingdom,  in  a  decaying  state,  was  preserved  a 
century  longer.  In  1291,  the  Sultan  Khalil  laid  siege 
to  the  place,  and,  on  the  18th  of  May,  captured  it  by 
assault.  Sixty  thousand  crusaders  were  killed  and 
made  prisoners.  The  Turks  swept  all  Palestine,  and 
put  to  death  every  Christian  who  could  not  flee  the 
country.  All  the  churches  and  fortifications  of  the 
Latins  were  demolished,  and,  in  the  language  of  Gib- 
bon, "  A  mournful  and  solitary  silence  prevailed  along 
the  coast  which  had  so  long  resounded  with  the 
World's  Debate." 


THE  TROUBADOURS. 

Southern  France,  after  having  been  the  mherit- 
ance  of  several  of  the  successors  of  Charlemagne,  was 
elevated,  in  879,  to  the  rank  of  an  independent  king- 
dom. Provence,  a  portion  of  this  territory,  subsequent- 
ly became  celebrated  for  the  origin  of  the  earliest 
European  literature  which  arose  after  the  decline  of 
the  Latin  language.  The  Troubadours  of  Provence 
created  the  first  modern  poetry,  and  contributed  much 
toward  the  formation  of  the  earliest  Italian  literature. 
Raymond  the  Fourth,  of  Arragon,  Count  of  Provence, 
a  lover  of  letters,  and  a  skilful  critic,  about  the  year 
1220,  invited  to  his  court  the  most  celebrated  of  the 
songsters,  who  professed  to  polish  and  adorn  the  Pro- 
vencal language  by  various  sorts  of  poetry.  Charles 
the  First,  his  son-in-law,  and  the  inheritor  of  his  vir- 
19* 


222 


SKETCHES   FROM  THE 


tues  and  dignities,  conquered  Naples,  and  carried  into 
Italy  a  taste  for  the  Provencal  literature.  Soon  after- 
wards the  Roman  court  was  removed  to  Provence. 
Hitherto  the  Latin  language  only  had  been  in  use. 
The  Provencal  writings  established  a  common  dialect, 
and  their  example  convinced  other  nations  that  the 
modern  languages  were  no  less  adapted  to  composition 
than  those  of  antiquity.  They  introduced  a  love  of 
reading,  and  diffused  a  popular  taste  for  poetry,  by 
writing  in  a  language  intelligible  to  the  ladies  and  the 
people.  Their  verses,  being  composed  in  a  familiar 
tongue,  became  the  chief  amusement  of  princes  and 
feudal  lords,  whose  courts  had  now  begun  to  assume 
an  air  of  greater  brilliancy.  These  arts  of  ingenious 
entertainment  thus  became  universally  fashionable,  and 
imperceptibly  laid  the  foundation  of  polite  literature. 

Thousands  of  poets  flourished  almost  contempora- 
neously in  the  Provencal  lan^ruage,  who  gave  it  a 
character  of  originality  which  owes  nothing  to  classi- 
cal literature.  The  Provencal  word,  Trobador,  means 
an  inventor.  The  poetry  of  the  first  Troubadours 
consisted  of  satires,  moral  fables,  allegories,  and  sen- 
timental sonnets.  As  early  as  the  year  1180,  a  tri- 
bunal, called  the  Court  of  Love^  was  instituted  in 
Provence,  by  which  questions  of  gallantry  were  decid- 
ed. This  institution  furnished  a  perpetual  supply  of 
matter  for  the  poets,  who  threw  the  claims  and  argu- 
ments of  the  different  parties  into  verse.  The  art  of 
the  Troubadours  went  by  the  name  of  the  Gay  Sci- 
ence. It  was  in  the  twelfth  century  that  their  poetry 
attained  its  highest  perfection.  It  was  essentially  lyri- 
cal, mostly  amorous,  and  was  characterized  by  simpli- 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


223 


city,  or  rather  paucity  of  ideas,  and  by  a  strained 
refinement  of  expression  and  peculiarity  of  form  which 
made  it  quite  distinct  from  the  classical  models.  In  that 
age  and  country  of  chivalry,  every  noble  beauty  had 
in  her  train  some  admiring  poet,  and  every  poet  select- 
ed some  fair  lady,  sometimes  the  daughter,  but  oftener 
the  wife,  of  the  nobleman  to  whose  retinue  he  was 
attached,  for  the  object  of  his  poetical  passion,  and  the 
subject  of  his  song.  It  was  a  poetical  attachment, 
although  it  sometimes  ended  in  a  real  one.  The 
Troubadours  often  sang  of  loftier  themes.  Some  of 
them,  who  had  followed  the  crusaders  and  shared  the 
dangers  of  Eastern  campaigns,  commemorated,  after 
their  return,  the  valiant  deeds  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
cross.  Others,  about  the  time  of  the  persecution  of 
the  Albigenses,  wrote  bitter  satires  against  the  perse- 
cutors, the  Inquisitors,  the  priesthood,  and  against 
Rome  itself. 

The  wildness  of  the  imagination  and  manners  of  the 
Troubadours  receives  a  striking  illustration  in  the  his- 
tory of  Geoffrey  de  Rudel,  a  Troubadour  of  the  twelfth 
century.  The  knights  who  returned  from  the  Holy 
Land  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  a  countess  of  Trip- 
oli, who  had  shown  them  the  most  generous  hospital- 
ity, and  whose  grace  and  beauty  equalled  her  virtues, 
Rudel,  hearing  this  account,  fell  deeply  in  love  with 
her,  although  he  had  never  seen  her,  and  prevailed 
upon  one  of  his  friends,  also  a  Troubadour,  to  accom- 
pany him  to  the  Levant.  In  1162,  he  embarked  for 
the  Holy  Land,  but  was  attacked  by  a  severe  illness 
on  the  voyage,  and  had  lost  the  power  of  speech  when 
he  arrived  at  the  port  of  Tripoli.    The  countess,  being 


S24 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


informed  that  a  celebrated  poet  was  dying  of  love  for 
her,  visited  him  on  shipboard,  took  him  kindly  by  the 
hand^  and  attempted  to  cheer  his  spirits.  The  poet, 
we  are  assured,  recovered  his  speech  sufficiently  to 
thank  the  countess  for  her  humanity,  and  to  declare 
his  passion,  when  his  expressions  of  gratitude  were 
silenced  by  the  convulsions  of  death.  He  was  buried 
at  Tripoli,  beneath  a  tomb  of  porphyry,  which  the  coun- 
tess raised  to  his  memory,  with  an  Arabic  inscription. 
The  following  are  his  verses  on  Distant  Love,  which 
he  composed  previous  to  his  voyage. 

Angry  and  sad  shall  be  my  way, 
'  If  I  behold  not  her  afar  ; 

And  yet  I  know  not  when  that  day 

Shall  rise,  for  still  she  dwells  afar. 
God  !  who  hast  formed  this  fair  array 

Of  worlds,  and  placed  my  love  afar, 
Strengthen  my  heart  with  hope,  I  pray, 

Of  seeing  her  I  love  afar. 
Though  but  one  blessing  may  repay 

The  thousand  griefs  I  feel  afar, 
No  other  love  shall  shed  its  ray 

On  me,  if  not  this  love  afar  ; 
A  brighter  one,  where'er  I  stray, 

I  shall  not  see,  or  near  or  far." 

Rhyme  was  the  groundwork  of  the  Provencal  poe- 
try, from  whence  it  passed  into  the  poetry  of  all  the 
other  European  nations.  This  form  of  verse  appears 
to  have  been  adopted  first  from  the  Arabians.  The 
Troubadours  impi^oved  on  the  Arabic  rhymes,  and 
varied  them  in  a  thousand  different  ways.  They 
crossed  and  intertwined  their  verses  so  that  the  return 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCB. 


225 


of  the  rhyme  was  preserved  throughout  the  whole 
stanza  ;  and  they  relied  on  their  harmonious  language, 
and  on  the  well  exercised  ears  of  their  auditors,  for 
making  the  expectation  of  the  rhyme,  and  its  return 
after  many  lines,  equally  productive  of  pleasure.  In 
this  manner  they  became  completely  masters  of  rhyme, 
and  treated  it  as  their  own  peculiar  property.  The 
laws  of  versification,  which  the  Troubadours  discover- 
ed, are  of  very  general  application.  They  have  been 
adopted  in  all  the  countries  of  the  South,  and  in  most 
of  those  of  the  North  of  Europe.  The  structure  of 
the  verse,  this  mechanical  part  of  poetry,  is  singularly 
connected,  by  some  secret  and  mysterious  associations, 
with  our  feelings  and  our  emotions,  and  with  all  that 
speaks  to  the  imagination  and  the  heart. 

Poetry,  as  we  have  shown  above,  became  the  recre- 
ation of  the  most  illustrious  men  in  Europe,  imme- 
diately after  the  appearance  of  the  Troubadours  in 
Provence.  The  amorous  monarchs  celebrated  their 
mistresses  in  verse  ;  and,  when  the  first  sovereigns  of 
Europe  had  thus  assumed  this  rank,  there  was  not  a 
single  baron  or  knight,  who  did  not  think  it  his  duty  to 
add  to  his  fame,  as  a  brave  and  gallant  man,  the  repu- 
tation of  a  gentle  Troubadour.  To  these  poetical  pur- 
suits nothing  more  was  necessary  than  a  quick  per- 
ception of  the  musical  and  harmonious.  In  obe- 
dience to  this  faculty,  the  words  naturally  fell  into  the 
order  most  agreeable  to  the  ear,  and  the  thoughts,  the 
images,  and  the  sentiments  acquired  that  general  ac- 
cordance and  melodious  congruity  which  seem  to  pro- 
ceed from  the  soul,  and  to  which  study  can  add  noth 
mg.    We  are  struck  with  surprise  at  observing  what 


226 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


very  slight  traces  of  learning  are  displayed  in  the 
poetry  of  the  Troubadours.  No  allusion  to  history  or 
mythology,  no  comparisons  borrowed  from  foreign 
manners,  no  reference  to  the  sciences,  or  the  learning 
of  the  schools,  are  mingled  with  their  simple  effusions 
of  sentiment.  This  fact  enables  us  to  comprehend 
how  it  was  possible  for  princes  and  knights,  who  were 
often  unable  to  read,  to  be  ranked  among  the  most 
ingenious  Troubadours. 

The  martial  songs  of  the  Troubadours  afford  in- 
stances of  the  most  lively  and  powerful  inspiration. 
The  following  is  by  Guillaume  de  St.  Gregory. 

"  The  beautiful  spring  delights  me  well, 

When  flowers  and  leaves  are  growing ; 
And  it  pleases  my  heart  to  hear  the  swell 
Of  the  birds'  sweet  chorus  flowing, 
In  the  echoing  wood  ; 
And  I  love  to  see,  all  scattered  around, 
Pavilions  and  tents  on  the  martial  ground ; 

And  my  spirit  finds  it  good 
To  see,  on  the  level  plains  beyond. 
Gay  knights  and  steeds  caparison'd. 

"  It  pleases  me  when  the  lancers  bold 
Set  men  and  armies  flying ; 
And  it  pleases  me,  too,  to  hear  around 
The  voice  of  the  soldiers  crying  : 
And  joy  is  mine 
When  the  castles  strong,  besieged,  shake, 
And  walls  uprooted  totter  and  quake, 

And  I  see  the  foemen  join 
On  the  moated  shore,  all  compassed  round 
With  the  palisade  and  guarded  mound. 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


227 


"  Lances,  and  swords,  and  stained  helms, 
And  shields  dismantled  and  broken, 
On  the  verge  of  the  bloody  battle-scene. 
The  field  of  wrath  betoken  ; 
And  the  vassals  are  there, 
And  there  fly  the  steeds  of  the  dying  and  dead . 
And  where  the  mingled  strife  is  spread, 

The  noblest  warrior's  care 
Is  to  cleave  the  foeman's  limbs  and  head, 
The  conqueror  less  of  the  living  than  dead. 

"  1  tell  you  that  nothing  my  soul  can  cheer, 
Or  banqueting  or  reposing, 
Like  the  onset  cry  of  '  Charge  them  !  '  rung 
From  each  side,  as  in  battle  closing : 
Where  the  horses  neigh, 
And  the  call  to  '  Aid  ! '  is  echoing  loud. 
And  there  on  the  earth  the  lowly  and  proud 

In  the  fosse  together  lie. 
And  yonder  is  piled  the  mingled  heap 
Of  the  brave  that  scaled  the  trench's  steep. 

"  Barons  !  your  castles  in  safety  place. 

Your  cities  and  villages  too. 
Before  ye  haste  to  the  battle  scene  ; 

And,  page,  now  quickly  go, 
And  tell  the  lord  of  '  Yes  and  No,'  * 
That  peace  already  too  long  hath  been  !  " 

The  high  reputation  of  the  Provencal  poets,  and  the 
rapid  decline  of  their  language,  are  two  phenomena 
equally  striking  in  the  history  of  the  cultivation  of  the 
human  mind.  All  at  once  the  voice  of  the  Trouba- 
dours became  silent ;  the  Provencal  language  was 
abandoned,  and,  undergoing  new  changes,  again  be- 


*  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion. 


228 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


came  a  mere  dialect,  till,  after  a  brilliant  existence  of 
three  centuries,  its  productions  were  ranked  among 
those  of  the  dead  languages.  That  literature  which 
has  given  models  to  other  nations  has  not  produced, 
among  its  abundance  of  agreeable  poems,  a  single 
master-piece,  or  a  work  of  high  genius,  destined  to 
humortality.  It  was  entirely  the  offspring  of  the  age, 
and  not  of  individuals.  Had  Dante  been  born  in  Pro- 
vence ;  had  he  boldly  united  in  one  great  poem  all 
the  high  mythology  of  Catholicism,  with  the  senti- 
ments, the  interests,  and  the  passions  of  a  knight,  a 
statesman,  and  a  crusader,  he  would  have  opened  a 
mine  of  riches  unknown  to  his  contemporaries.  By 
his  sole  influence,  the  Provencal  language  might  still 
have  been  in  existence,  the  most  cultivated,  as  well  as 
the  most  ancient  language  of  Southern  Europe.  But 
no  Dante  arose  in  Provence,  and  the  poetry  of  that 
country  merely  reveals  to  us  the  imagination  and  the 
spirit  of  the  modern  nations  in  their  infancy.  It  ex- 
hibits what  was  common  to  all  and  pervaded  all ;  and 
not  what  genius,  superior  to  the  age,  enabled  a  single 
individual  to  accomplish.  It  had  no  resources  except 
such  as  were  within  itself,  no  classical  allusions,  no  my- 
thology, either  native  or  borrowed,  nor  even  a  roman- 
tic imagination.  It  was  a  beautiful  flower  springing  up 
on  a  sterile  soil  ;  nor  could  any  cultivation  avail  it,  in 
the  absence  of  its  natural  nourishment. 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


229 


THE  JACQUERIE. 

The  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  was  one  of 
the  most  calamitous  periods  in  the  French  annals. 
There  was  hardly  any  affliction  or  disgrace  which  did 
not  fall  upon  the  kingdom  during  those  disastrous 
times.  Edward  the  Third,  of  England,  had  carried 
his  arms  into  the  heart  of  France.  King  John  was 
made  a  prisoner,  and  the  army  of  the  French  over- 
thrown at  the  battle  of  Poictiers.  The  capital  was  in  a 
state  of  sedition.  A  traitorous  prince  of  the  blood  was 
in  arms  against  the  sovereign  authority.  Famine,  the 
certain  and  terrible  companion  of  war,  for  several 
years  desolated  the  country.  In  1348,  the  great 
plague,  the  most  extensive  and  unsparing  recorded  in 
history,  visited  France  as  well  as  the  rest  of  Europe, 
and  consummated  the  work  of  hunger  and  the  sword. 
To  these  calamities  we  must  add  the  Jacquerie^  or 
insurrection  of  the  French  peasantry,  which  seemed 
to  fill  the  cup  of  woes  to  the  brim,  and  was  marked 
by  all  the  circumstances  of  horror  incident  to  the  sud- 
den rising  of  an  exasperated  and  ignorant  populace. 

The  companies  of  adventurers,  or  mercenary  troops, 
in  the  French  and  English  service,  finding  no  imme- 
diate occupation  during  the  truce  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, scattered  themselves  over  France  in  search  of 
pillage-  No  force  existed  sufficiently  powerful  to 
check  these  robbers  in  their  career.  Unswayed  by 
superstition,  they  compelled  the  Pope  to  ransom  him- 
self, in  Avignon,  by  the  payment  of  forty  thousand 
crowns.  France  continued  to  be  the  passive  victim 
VIII.— 20 


230 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


of  their  violence,  even  after  the  pacification  was  con- 
cluded with  England,  till  some  were  diverted  into 
Italy,  and  others  led  by  Du  Guesclin  to  the  wars  of 
Castile.  Impatient  of  these  sufferings,  the  peasants, 
formerly  oppressed  by  their  lords,  and  now  left  unpro- 
tected by  them,  grew  desperate,  and,  rising  every- 
where in  arms,  carried  the  disorders  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity. The  wild  state  of  nature  seemed  to  be  re- 
newed in  the  bosom  of  society ;  every  man  was  thrown 
loose  and  independent  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  the 
whole  populace  of  France  was  in  a  state  of  furious 
insurrection.  This  is  commemorated  in  history  by  the 
name  of  the  Jacquerie^  from  the  title  of  Bon  Homme 
Jacques^  or  Good  Man  Jacques^  commonly  applied  to 
the  peasantry. 

This  insurrection  first  broke  out  in  1358,  at  Beau- 
voisis  in  Brie  upon  the  Marne.  At  first,  it  was  noth- 
ing more  than  a  disorderly  troop  of  about  a  hundred 
persons,  without  any  leader,  who,  after  discussing  their 
grievances,  began  to  declaim  against  the  nobles  of 
the  kingdom,  the  knights  and  squires,  by  whom  they 
felt  oppressed.  Murmurs  of  revenge  were  heard,  and 
at  length  a  voice  arose,  declaring  that  it  would  be  a 
meritorious  act  to  destroy  them  all.  To  this  declara- 
tion a  general  assent  was  given  ;  and  all  the  persons 
present,  encouraging  each  other  to  violent  measures, 
immediately  ran  to  such  arms  as  they  could  seize, 
which  were,  in  general,  nothing  more  than  knives,  and 
sticks  shod  with  iron;  marched  tumultuously  to  the 
house  of  a  knight  in  the  neighbourhood,  broke  it  open, 
murdered  him  and  all  his  family,  and  burnt  the  house. 
They  next  attacked  the  castle  of  another  knight,  cap- 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


231 


tured  and  destroyed  it,  murdering  all  the  inmates 
under  circumstances  of  the  greatest  atrocity.  In  a  short 
time,  their  numbers  increased  to -six  thousand  persons, 
who  spread  themselves  in  every  quarter,  burning, 
plundering,  and  murdering  all  before  them.  The  bet- 
ter sort  of  people  abandoned  their  dwellings  and  fled 
for  their  lives.  Consternation  prevailed  throughout  the 
country.  The  multitudes  of  the  insurgents  increased 
everywhere  in  their  onward  movements,  and  before 
long  they  amounted  to  a  hundred  thousand. 

This  infuriated  rabble,"  as  Froissart  says,  "  plun- 
dered and  burnt  all  the  houses  in  their  march,  mur- 
dered every  gentleman,  and  violated  every  lady  and 
damsel  they  could  find.  He  who  committed  the  most 
atrocious  actions,  and  such  as  no  human  creature  would 
have  imagined,  was  the  most  applauded,  and  consider- 
ed as  the  greatest  man  among  them.  I  dare  not  write 
the  horrible  and  inconceivable  atrocities  they  commit- 
ted. When  asked,  for  what  reason  they  acted  so 
wickedly,  they  replied,  they  knew  not,  but  did  so  be- 
cause they  saw  others  do  the  same  ;  and  they  thought 
that  by  this  means  they  should  destroy  all  the  nobles 
and  gentlemen  in  the  world." 

A  body  of  nine  thousand  of  these  savage  boors  broke 
into  the  city  of  Meaux,  where  the  wife  of  the  Dauphin, 
the  Duchess  of  Orleans,  and  above  three  hundred 
other  ladies  had  taken  shelter.  The  most  horrible 
enormities  were  about  to  be  committed,  and  the  unfor- 
tunate fugitives  gave  themselves  up  for  lost.  They 
had  no  defence  against  this  ferocious  mob,  except  sixty 
knights  led  by  the  Count  de  Foix  and  the  Captal  de 
Buch.    But  these  gallant  knights,  animated  by  the 


232 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


true  spirit  of  chivalry,  advanced  boldly  to  the  gates  of 
the  market-place,  where  the  ladies  were  lodged,  and 
fell  upon  ^he  tumultuous  rabble,  who,  struck  with  a 
panic  at  this  intrepid  attack  from  a  handful  of  men, 
gave  way  and  fled  in  a  most  disorderly  rout.  The 
knights  pursued  them  and  drove  them  from  the  town 
with  much  slaughter.  Great  numbers  were  forced 
into  the  river,  where  they  were  drowned,  and  their 
whole  loss  on  that  day  was  not  less  than  seven  thou- 
sand. On  the  return  of  the  knights  to  Meaux,  they 
set  fire  to  the  town,  where  they  burnt  to  death  all  the 
peasants  of  the  neighbourhood  they  could  find,  be- 
cause the  townspeople  and  the  peasantry  had  assisted 
the  rioters  in  their  outrages. 

After  their  repulse  at  Meaux,  these  banditti  began 
to  encounter  resistance  from  other  quarters.  The 
gentlemen  of  Beauvoisis,  Corbie,  and  Vermandois, 
finding  themselves  unable,  without  assistance,  to  check 
these  increasing  violences,  had  sent  for  help  to  their 
friends  in  Flanders,  Hainault,  and  Bohemia.  Aided 
by  auxiliaries  from  these  countries,  they  took  the  field 
against  the  common  enemy,  who,  ill-armed,  and  with- 
out discipline  or  order,  could  not  stand  their  attacks. 
These  wretches  were  cut  to  pieces  and  dispersed, 
wherever  they  were  found.  All  who  were  taken 
were  hung  upon  the  trees  along  the  roads.  The  king 
of  Navarre  put  to  death  in  one  day,  near  Clermont,  up- 
wards of  three  thousand.  An  individual,  who  was 
called  their  captain,  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  the 
Dauphin,  who,  understanding  that  he  had  assumed  the 
title  of  King,  caused  him  to  be  crowned  with  an  iron 
trevet  heated  red  hot,  and  then  hanged  for  his  barba- 
rous cruelties. 


HISTOKY  OF  FRANCE. 


233 


The  deplorable  condition  of  France  at  this  time,  and 
for  a  considerable  period  afterward,  is  strikingly  exhib- 
ited in  a  letter  of  Petrarch,  who  made  a  journey  to 
Paris  in  1360.  "  When  I  beheld  the  kingdom  lying 
under  the  desolation  of  fire  and  sword,  I  could  hardly 
persuade  myself  that  it  was  the  same  country  which  I 
had  formerly  seen  so  rich  and  flourishing.  I  could  re- 
cognize nothing.  All  that  met  my  view  was  a  frightful 
solitude,  the  extreme  of  misery,  general  desolation, 
lands  run  to  waste,  fields  devastated,  houses  in  ruins. 
Not  a  building  was  to  be  seen,  except  those  defended 
by  fortifications,  or  enclosed  within  the  walls  of  cities. 
Paris  was  surrounded  by  heaps  of  ruin  and  marks  of 
conflagration.  That  despoiled  and  melancholy  city 
appeared  still  to  dread  a  repetition  of  the  horrors  to 
which  it  had  lately  been  a  prey  ;  and  the  Seine,  in 
bathing  its  walls,  seemed  to  weep  for  its  miseries  and 
fear  new  calamities." 


20* 


234  SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


THE  HUGUENOTS, 


Henry  the  Fourth, 


A  LONG  train  of  causes  prepared  the  way  for  the 
Protestant  Reformation,  and  an  acute  observer  might 
have  seen  that  a  storm  was  gathering  over  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Old 
abuses  were  succeeded  by  new  ones,  and  the  improvi- 
dence of  Pope  Leo  the  Tenth  precipitated  the  explo- 
sion. The  boldness,  perseverance,  and  fiery  temper 
of  Martin  Luther  maintained  a  successful  opposition 
against  the  authority  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  and  within 
a  few  years  from  the  condemnation  of  the  great  re- 
former by  a  papal  bull,  in  1520,  the  Church  of  Rome 
had  lost  Saxony,  Hesse,  Brunswick,  Denmark,  Swe- 
den, and  a  great  part  of  Switzerland. 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


235 


The  first  appearance  of  the  reformed  religion  in 
France  was  marked  by  the  most  bloody  persecution. 
The  parliament  of  Aix,  in  Provence,  condemned  to  the 
flames,  as  heretics,  all  the  masters  of  families  in  the 
town  of  Merindol,  ordered  all  the  houses  to  be  razed 
to  the  ground,  and  the  trees  of  the  neighbouring  forest 
to  be  rooted  up.  The  execution  of  this  barbarous  act 
exceeded  the  order.  Twenty- two  towns  and  villages 
fell  a  prey  to  the  flames,  and  three  thousand  persons, 
without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  were  massacred. 
This  was  the  signal  for  the  ferocious  wars  which  fanat- 
icism soon  after  lighted  up  in  the  kingdom.  From  the 
death  of  Henry  the  Second,  the  court  of  France  was 
filled  with  turbulent  factions.  Catherine  de  Medicis, 
the  Queen  Mother,  ambitious,  versatile,  treacherous, 
and  capable  of  the  blackest  crimes,  swayed  the  actions 
of  the  imbecile  Francis  the  Second.  She  made  no 
scruple  of  committing  any  wickedness  when  it  was 
found  expedient,  and  may  be  said  to  have  breathed  the 
very  spirit  of  Machiavellism.  The  active  authority  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  Guises,  uncles  of  the  young  queen, 
Mary  Stuart ;  but  other  powerful  aspirants  for  domin- 
ion exerted  their  intrigues  to  throw  the  state  into  con- 
fusion, for  the  sake  of  their  own  private  interest.  All 
of  them  used  religion  as  the  instrument  of  faction. 
Be  religion  they  kindled  the  civil  wars,  in  which  ambi- 
tion and  fanaticism  vied  with  each  other  in  exerting 
their  fiercest  rage  upon  the  people. 

Under  Francis  the  First,  the  Protestant  religion  had 
spread  greatly  at  court,  as  well  as  in  the  capital  and 
provinces,  notwithstanding  the  royal  edicts  against  it, 
which  were  less  owing  to  the  zeal  of  Francis,  than 


236 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


to  controlling  circumstances.  The  massacres  of  Mer* 
indol,  and  the  executions  which  were  imprudently 
multiplied  by  Henry  the  Second,  irritated,  instead  of 
humbling,  the  spirit  of  the  sect.  Some  aspired  to  mar- 
tyrdom ;  others  mingled  with  their  zeal  great  ardor  for 
liberty  and  thirst  for  revenge.  Admiral  Coligni  and 
his  brothers,  D'Andelot  and  Cardinal  Chatillon,  neph- 
ews of  the  Grand  Constable,  men  of  weight  and  influ- 
ence in  the  kingdom,  were  firm  friends  to  a  reforma- 
tion, and  the  Prince  of  Conde  inclined  to  the  same 
side.    Such  powerful  protectors  kept  them  in  courage. 

The  origin  of  the  term,  Huguenot,  like  that  of  many 
other  names  which  spring  up  in  times  of  party,  is  un- 
certain. It  is  most  commonly  thought  to  be  a  corrup- 
tion of  Eidgenosseti^  the  appellation  of  the  Swiss  lea- 
guers in  their  early  struggle  for  liberty.  It  was  ap- 
plied exclusively  to  the  Protestants  of  France.  The 
government  incessantly  harassed  them,  and,  by  a  most 
dishonorable  policy,  tempted  them  into  snares,  that 
pretexts  might  be  obtained  for  punishing  them.  Far 
from  correcting  the  superstitions  that  had  crept  into 
the  Catholic  worship,  new  observances  still  more  su- 
perstitious were  invented.  At  the  corners  of  the  streets 
were  placed  images  of  the  Virgin  and  the  Saints  with 
lighted  tapers  before  them.  Round  these  the  populace 
assembled,  singing  hymns,  and  forcing  passengers  to 
put  money  into  begging-boxes.  If  a  man  did  not  bow 
to  these  images,  and  stop  with  marks  of  reverence 
while  the  fanatic  people  were  paying  this  worship,  he 
was  insulted,  knocked  down,  and  dragged  to  prison. 
The  Protestants,  under  these  outrages,  thirsted  for  re- 
venge, and  only  wanted  a  leader,  to  break  out  into 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


237 


open  violence.  The  first  demonstration  was  the  con- 
spiracy of  Amboise,  in  1560,  having  for  its  object  to 
take  the  government  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Guises, 
who  were  hated  for  the  double  reason  of  being  foreign- 
ers and  persecutors.  The  conspiracy  was  prematurely 
betrayed,  and  the  Huguenots,  flocking  from  all  quar- 
ters to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  were  surprised,  massa- 
cred, or  put  to  death  by  the  executioners. 

Such  a  misfortune  could  only  further  inflame  a  party 
so  numerous  and  resolute.  A  general  assembly  was 
held  at  Fontainebleau  to  deliberate  on  the  exigencies  of 
the  state,  when  Admiral  Coligni  presented  to  the  king 
a  petition  from  the  Huguenots,  demanding  the  public 
exercise  of  their  religion,  and  that  their  particular 
meetings  might  no  longer  be  imputed  to  them  as  a 
crime.  He  declared  that  fifty  thousand  men  were 
ready  to  sign  it.  This  bold  proceeding  was  not  with- 
out effect.  The  persecutions  were  suspended,  and 
the  Huguenots  had  time  to  breathe  under  a  shadow  of 
toleration. 

Shortly  after,  Francis  the  Second  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother,  Charles  the  Ninth,  not  yet 
ten  years  of  age.  The  intrigues  of  the  Queen  Mother 
again  plunged  the  government  into  troubles,  and  all 
hopes  of  peace  were  completely  dissipated  by  an  acci- 
dent which  revived  the  religious  feuds  in  their  full 
rage.  As  the  Duke  of  Guise  was  travelling  through 
Vassy  in  Champagne,  some  of  his  men  insulted  a 
congregation  of  Protestants,  who  were  attending  a  ser- 
mon in  a  barn.  Seeing  a  fray  beginning,  he  ran  to 
appease  the  combatants,  and  was  struck  with  a  stone. 
His  attendants^  in  a  fit  of  rage,  killed  about  sixty  per- 


238 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


sons.  This  massacre,  which  was  greatly  exaggerated 
by  pubHc  report,  drove  the  Huguenots  to  take  up  arms. 
Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  religious  wars  which 
threw  the  whole  kingdom  into  confusion.  The  Prince 
of  Conde,  who  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Protest- 
ant party,  seized  Orleans,  Rouen,  and  other  cities  and 
towns.  He  gave  up  Havre  to  Elizabeth  of  England, 
in  order  to  obtain  her  assistance.  The  French  seemed 
to  have  lost  their  national  spirit  in  the  heat  of  their 
animosities.  The  whole  kingdom  was  filled  with  fa- 
natics transported  with  the  hottest  rage  against  each 
other.  The  parliament  proscribed  the  Huguenots,  and 
commanded  the  Catholics  to  pursue  and  kill  them 
without  fear  of  being  brought  to  justice.  The  age  of 
Marius  and  Sylla  appeared  to  be  renewed.  Surprisals 
and  massacres  occurred  every  moment,  and  hardly  a 
town  in  the  kingdom  escaped  the  bloody  and  horrible 
scenes  of  civil  war. 

Short  intervals  of  peace  seemed  to  promise  occa- 
sionally a  termination  of  these  calamities ;  but  the  trea- 
ties in  favor  of  the  Huguenots  were  shamefully  vio- 
lated by  the  stronger  party,  when  it  suited  their  pur- 
poses. Deeds  of  the  most  profound  dissimulation  and 
treachery  at  length  prepared  the  way  for  the  massa- 
cre of  St.  Bartholomew,  one  of  the  foulest  transactions 
that  stain  the  page  of  French  history.  The  court 
flattered  and  cajoled  the  Protestants  in  order  to  bring 
them  into  their  toils.  The  perfidious  Charles  the  Ninth 
invited  Admiral  Coligni  to  his  court,  offered  him  the 
command  of  an  army  against  Spain,  and  treated  him 
with  the  greatest  respect  and  affection.  Coligni  fell 
into  the  snare,  and  was  completely  won  by  the  frank 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


239 


demeanour  of  the  young  king.  He  employed  his  in- 
fluence to  induce  other  Protestant  chiefs  to  follow  his 
example,  and,  though  repeatedly  warned  of  his  danger, 
his  confidence  was  unshaken.  In  this  deceitful  calm, 
he  exclaimed,  "  Rather  than  renew  the  horrors  of  civil 
war,  I  would  be  dragged  a  corpse  through  the  streets 
of  Paris." 

The  court  resided  then  at  Blois ;  but  the  marriage 
of  Henry,  king  of  Navarre,  with  Margaret,  the  sister 
of  Charles,  drew  it  to  Paris  on  the  18th  of  August, 
1572.  Coligni,  the  Prince  of  Conde,  and  the  most 
considerable  men  of  the  Protestant  party,  attended 
without  suspicion,  and  entertained  a  hope  that  the 
marriage  of  a  Protestant  king  with  the  king's  sister 
would  appease  the  religious  animosities.  But  at  this 
moment  a  most  diabolical  plot  was  in  existence  for  the 
total  extirpation  of  the  Huguenots  by  massacre.  Con- 
de and  the  king  of  Navarre  only  were  to  be  spared, 
on  condition  of  changing  their  religion.  Volumes 
have  been  written  upon  the  disputed  points,  of  the 
original  projectors  of  the  plot,  and  the  precise  share 
which  the  king  bore  in  it ;  but  this  is  not  the  place  for 
such  topics.  We  can  only  state  the  general  and  well 
authenticated  facts. 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  with  great  pomp. 
Four  days  were  passed  in  all  sorts  of  festivities.  On 
the  fifth,  as  Coligni  was  walking  home,  reading  a 
paper,  he  was  shot  by  an  arquebuse  from  the  upper 
window  of  a  house  occupied  by  the  Duke  of  Guise. 
One  ball  shattered  his  hand,  and  another  lodged  in 
his  right  arm.  The  wounds  were  declared  to  be  not 
dangerous ;  but,  on  the  news  of  the  occurrence,  the 


240 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


Huguenots  repaired  in  crowds  to  the  Admiral's  resi- 
dence, and  offered  him  their  services,  with  menacing 
language  against  the  Guises,  the  suspected  assassins. 
The  real  authors  of  this  deed,  however,  were  the 
Queen  Mother,  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  and  the  Duke  of 
Nemours.  The  attempt  having  failed,  the  conspira- 
tors met  secretly  the  next  morning..  After  dinner,  the 
Queen  Mother  was  seen  to  enter  the  king's  chamber ; 
Anjou  and  some  other  Catholic  lords  presently  joined 
her.  According  to  Charles's  account  of  this  meeting, 
as  reported  by  his  sister,  Margaret,  he  was  there  sud- 
denly informed  of  a  treasonable  conspiracy  of  the 
Huguenots  against  himself  and  family  ;  was  told  that 
the  Admiral  and  his  friends  were  at  that  moment  plot- 
ting his  destruction,  and  that,  if  he  did  not  promptly 
anticipate  the  designs  of  his  enemies,  he  and  his  fami- 
ly might  be  sacrificed.  Under  this  impression,  he 
states  that  he  gave  a  reluctant  and  hurried  consent  to 
the  proposition  of  his  counsellors,  exclaiming,  as  he  left 
the  room,  that  he  hoped  not  a  single  Huguenot  would 
be  left  alive  to  reproach  him  with  the  deed.  The 
plan  of  the  massacre  had  been  previously  arranged, 
and  the  signal  was  to  be  given  in  two  hours. 

All  Paris  was  tranquil  at  this  moment.  Charles,  his 
mother,  and  Anjou  repaired  to  an  open  balcony  of  the 
Louvre,  and  awaited  the  result  in  breathless  silence. 
This  awful  suspense  was  broken  by  the  report  of  a 
pistol.  Charles  shook  with  horror  ;  his  frame  trem- 
bled ;  his  resolution  failed  him,  and  cold  drops  stood 
upon  his  brow.  But  it  was  too  late  to  recede  ; 
the  bell  of  the  church  of  St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois 
tolled,  and  the  horrible  massacre  commenced  at  two 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  241 

o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  August,  1572, 
the  day  of  St.  Bartholomew.  Cohgni  and  his  friends 
were  immediately  murdered  in  cold  blood,  and  their  re- 
mains were  treated  with  brutal  indignity.  The  popu- 
lace were  then  called  upon  to  join  in  the  carnage,  and 
protect  their  religion  and  their  king  against  Huguenot 
treason.  The  leaders  galloped  through  the  streets 
shouting,  "  Kill !  kill !  —  kill  the  Huguenots  !  kill 
every  man  of  them  !  —  It  is  the  king's  orders  !  "  The 
wretched  Protestants  were  murdered  in  their  beds,  or 
cut  down  in  attempting  to  escape.  The  streets  and 
houses  streamed  with  blood.  The  rage  of  the  murder- 
ers spared  neither  age,  sex,  nor  condition.  The  king 
was  said  to  have  encouraged  the  massacre,  by  firing 
from  the  windows  of  his  palace  upon  the  miserable 
fugitives  as  they  ran  along  the  streets.  The  affair  now 
took  a  turn  which  was  not  anticipated.  Secret  re- 
venge and  personal  hatred  embraced  that  favorable 
opportunity  for  gratification,  and  many  Catholics  fell 
by  the  hands  of  Catholic  assassins.  Towards  evening, 
the  excesses  of  the  populace  became  so  alarming,  that 
the  king,  by  sound  of  trumpet,  commanded  every  man 
to  return  to  his  house,  under  penalty  of  death,  except 
the  officers  of  the  guard  and  the  civil  authorities. 
The  next  day,  he  issued  another  proclamation,  declar- 
ing that  no  person,  under  pain  of  death,  should  kill  or 
pillage  another,  unless  duly  authorized.  It  is  evident 
that  the  massacre  was  more  extensive  and  indiscrimi- 
nate than  its  projectors  had  anticipated,  and  that  it  was 
necessary  to  check  the  disorderly  fury  of  the  popu- 
lace. Yet  it  was  not  till  the  end  of  the  third  day  that 
the  slaughter  ceased.  But,  in  the  mean  time,  orders 
16  viii.~-21 


242 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


had  been  sent  for  the  perpetration  of  the  same  butch- 
ery in  the  provinces,  and  one  hundred  thousand  vic- 
tims are  computed  to  have  fallen  in  this  diabolical 
massacre.  On  the  26th  of  August,  Charles  went  in 
state  to  the  parliament  of  Paris,  and  avowed  himself 
the  author  of  the  whole  proceeding,  claiming  to  him- 
self the  merit  of  having  thereby  given  peace  to  his 
kingdom.  A  medal  was  struck  in  commemoration  of 
the  event,  with  the  inscription,  Piety  put  the  sword 
into  the  hand  of  Justice." 

Yet  the  conduct  of  Charles  is  not  easily  understood. 
Sully  informs  us,  that,  while  the  massacre  was  going 
on,  he  behaved  like  one  possessed.  A  few  days  after, 
he  said  to  the  celebrated  Ambrose  Pare,  his  surgeon, 
and  a  Huguenot,  "  I  know  not  how  it  is,  but  for  the 
last  few  days  I  have  felt  like  one  in  a  fever  ;  my  mind 
and  body  are  both  disturbed.  Every  moment,  whether 
I  am  asleep  or  awake,  visions  of  murdered  corpses, 
covered  with  blood,  and  hideous  to  the  sight,  haunt  me. 
Oh  !  I  wish  they  had  spared  the  innocent  and  feeble  !  " 
—  He  died  in  less  than  two  years  after  the  massacre, 
in  an  agony  of  mental  and  bodily  suffering. 

The  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  produced  effects 
entirely  the  reverse  of  what  had  been  expected  by  the 
Catholics,  but  exactly  such  as  a  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  and  of  the  principles  of  religious  zeal  and  en- 
thusiasm, would  have  anticipated.  The  Huguenots, 
instead  of  being  crushed  into  submission,  became  more 
formidable  from  despair.  A  thirst  for  revenge,  and  an 
ardent  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  were  kindled 
all  over  the  country.  Civil  war  burst  out  again  in  all 
its  fury.    The  Protestants  assembled  in  large  bodies, 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


243 


and  took  refuge  in  strong  places.  The  king  of  Na- 
varre and  the  prince  of  Conde  placed  themselves  at 
their  head.  Witil  the  most  heroic  valor  they  com- 
bated for  their  religion ;  and,  in  these  dreadful  com- 
motions, such  deeds  were  committed  as  cannot  be  re- 
membered without  horror.  The  king  of  Navarre,  by 
his  fortitude,  prudence,  and  policy,  at  length  calmed 
these  agitations.  By  embracing  the  Catholic  religion, 
he  made  his  way  to  the  throne  of  France  ;  and  this 
monarch,  Henry  the  Fourth,  secured  to  his  Protestant 
subjects,  by  the  famous  Edict  of  Nantes,  in  1598,  a 
full  enjoyment  of  their  civil  rights  and  privileges, 
without  persecution  or  molestation  from  any  quarter. 

But  the  sufferings  of  the  Huguenots  were  afterwards 
renewed  under  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  when  the  bishops 
and  Jesuits,  who  influenced  that  weak  prince,  formed  a 
plan  to  extirpate  them  by  fire  and  sword,  and  to  ruin, 
by  one  mortal  blow,  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  in 
France.  The  Edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked  in  1685  ; 
liberty  of  conscience  was  abolished  ;  all  the  Protestant 
churches  were  destroyed  ;  and  orders  were  issued  to 
take  their  children  from  them,  and  place  them  in  the 
hands  of  Catholics.  The  ministers  were  banished,-and 
all  the  terrors  of  military  execution  were  employed  to 
force  the  others  to  profess  the  Catholic  religion.  Such 
of  these  compulsory  converts  as  relapsed  were  ex- 
posed to  the  most  dreadful  punishments.  Great  num- 
bers were  put  to  death,  and  a  price  was  set  on  the 
heads  of  the  rest,  who  were  hunted  like  wild  beasts. 
By  this  atrocious  persecution,  more  than  half  a  million 
of  the  most  useful  and  industrious  inhabitants  of  France 
were  driven  into  exile ;  and  the  bigoted  cruelty  and  in- 


244 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


justice  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth  received  their  just  re- 
ward, in  the  loss  of  the  staple  manufactures  of  his 
kingdom,  which  not  only  declined  i#France,  but  were 
transferred  to  the  dominions  of  his  rivals. 


LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH  AND  HIS  TIMES. 


Louis  the  Fourteenth  in  his  Chamber, 


The  reign  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth  has  been  termed 
the  Augustan  age  of  France.  This  monarch  had  none 
of  the  commanding  qualities  which  create  a  nation  or 
an  era,  and  he  would  not  have  been  distinguished  from 
common  princes  in  common  circumstances.  Destitute 
himself  of  the  true  sentiment  of  greatness,  he  yet 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


245 


became,  fortuitously,  the  instrument  of  great  deeds, 
and  his  reign  will  always  be  a  memorable  period  in 
history.  France  made  great  progress  under  his  rule, 
for  which,  however,  she  was  no  further  indebted  to  him 
than  as  he  was  a  general  encourager  of  every  thing 
that  could  flatter  his  pride  and  vanity.  He  was  perpetu- 
ally told  that  he  was  the  greatest  of  all  mortals,  and 
he  beheved  it.  One  of  his  ablest  panegyrists  has 
summed  up  his  character  by  saying,  that,  if  he  was 
not  a  great  king,  he  was,  at  least,  a  great  actor  of 
royalty. 

Louis  the  Fourteenth  was  born  in  1638.  On  the 
death  of  his  father,  in  1643,  he  succeeded  to  the  crown, 
under  the  regency  of  his  mother,  Anne  of  Austria. 
France  was  disturbed  by  a  civil  war,  and  the  royal 
family  were  obliged  to  leave  the  capital,  and  wander 
from  province  to  province.  The  education  of  the 
young  king  was  much  neglected,  and  he  was  kept  ig- 
norant of  most  things  useful  to  a  monarch.  The  les- 
son most  strongly  impressed  upon  him  from  his  child- 
hood was  the  sentiment  of  his  own  importance. 
Taught  by  his  flatterers  that  he  himself  was  every 
thing,  and  that  his  subjects  were  nothing  in  the  com- 
parison, he  considered  no  sacrifice  of  theirs  too  great 
for  the  promotion  of  his  glory,  or  the  gratification  of 
his  desires.  Cardinal  Mazarin  was  at  first  his  prime 
minister;  but  after  his  death,  in  1661,  Louis  determin- 
ed to  govern  by  himself,  and  that  office  became  vacant. 
An  ignorant  young  man,  whose  time  had  been  devoted 
to  amusement,  could  not,  however,  really  manage  the 
concerns  of  a  great  nation  ;  and  it  was  fortunate  for 
him  that  able  officers,  in  all  the  departments  of  state, 
21* 


246 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


had  been  formed  under  the  preceding  administrations. 
To  the  genius  of  Colbert,  the  great  financier,  France 
is  indebted  for  the  revival  of  her  commerce,  and  the 
splendid  establishments  of  manufactures  and  the  arts 
which  flourished  in  the  early  part  of  this  reign.  It 
was  he,  who,  though  unlearned  himself,  yet  capable  of 
valuing  literature,  suggested  to  Louis  that  plan  of  pen- 
sioning all  the  eminent  men  of  letters  throughout  Eu- 
rope, which  at  a  very  small  expense  secured  to  him 
more  erudite  adulation  than  any  other  prince  in  mod- 
ern times  has  received. 

Louis  made  war  upon  his  neighbours  for  his  own 
glory  and  to  amuse  the  ladies  of  his  court.  Holland 
was  at  that  time  flourishing  by  her  commerce  and  col- 
onies, and,  with  her  prosperity,  had  adopted  a  character 
of  republican  haughtiness.  Louis,  who  could  endure 
no  pride  in  competition  with  his  own,  and  who  viewed 
the  wealth  of  this  country  as  a  tempting  prey,  found  a 
frivolous  pretext  for  quarrelling  with  the  Dutch.  He 
poured  a  vast  army  into  Holland,  and  overran  nearly 
all  the  country.  Amsterdam  was  saved  only  by  laying 
the  surrounding  territory  under  water.  The  ambition 
and  rapacity  of  Louis  stirred  up  coalitions  against  him, 
and  he  was  forced  to  abandon  Holland  as  speedily  as 
he  had  conquered  it.  Other  wars  followed,  with  Spain, 
the  German  Empire,  and  other  powers.  Louis,  at- 
tended by  his  courtiers,  ladies,  and  all  the  pomp  and 
luxury  of  a  court,  formed  several  sieges  in  person, 
and  his  generals  took  care  that  he  should  always 
prove  successful.  He  carried  with  him  historiograph- 
ers to  record  his  exploits,  and  every  act  that  flat- 
tery could  devise  was  employed  to  exalt  him  in  his 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


247 


own  estimation  and  in  the  eyes  of  Europe.  He  re- 
ceived from  his  subjects  the  title  of  "  the  Great,"  which 
for  a  considerable  time  seemed  durably  attached  to  his 
name  ;  but  he  Uved  to  see  it  lost  among  foreigners,  and 
it  has  finally  become  obsolete  among  his  own  country- 
men. 

From  the  palace  of  St.  Cloud  one  may  descry  the 
spire  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis,  where  the  kings  of 
France  are  entombed.  Louis  could  endure  the  sight 
of  nothing  that  reminded  him  of  his  mortality.  He 
determined  upon  a  residence  in  another  quarter,  and 
Versailles  was  built,  at  an  expense  so  enormous,  that 
even  Louis  himself  was  alarmed  on  examining  the 
accounts,  and  ordered  them  to  be  burnt,  that  the  world 
might  never  know  what  monstrous  sums  had  been 
squandered  upon  his  pleasures.  His  leading  object 
was  always  his  personal  grandeur,  and  in  whatever 
point  any  other  prince  had  attained  greatness,  he  re- 
solved to  emulate  him.  Absolute  master  of  a  rich  and 
powerful  country,  he  employed  all  its  resources  to  sur 
pass  every  competitor  in  all  that  could  conduce  to  his 
own  glory.  This  disposition  led  to  many  truly  great  and 
useful  projects,  but,  for  want  of  limit  and  moderation,  it 
defeated  its  own  purposes,  and  exhausted  the  means 
before  the  end  had  been  attained.  If  the  age  of  Louis 
the  Fourteenth  was  that  in  which  the  reputation  of 
France  for  arms,  arts,  literature,  and  magnificence 
stood  at  its  highest  pitch,  it  was  also  that  of  its  wretch- 
edness and  humiliation  ;  and  this  king  ought  rather  to 
be  regarded  as  the  squanderer  of  his  country's  wealth 
than  as  the  author  of  its  prosperity.  The  conceited 
and  egotistical  French  nation,  however,  found  its  own 


248 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


vanity  gratified  by  the  assumed  superiority  of  le 
Grand  Monarque^  and  regarded  him  with  the  most 
profound  and  servile  veneration. 

Louis  the  Fourteenth  was  a  most  regular  and  devout 
observer  of  the  forms  of  religion  ;  yet  in  morals  he 
was  far  from  setting  an  example  of  virtue,  or  even  of 
decency.  More  than  one  chapter  in  the  history  of 
France  must  be  occupied  by  the  scandalous  chronicle 
of  his  mistresses.  He  seemed  to  claim  the  privilege 
of  impudent  licentiousness  as  the  exclusive  preroga- 
tive of  the  crown.  In  his  expedition  through  the  con- 
quered places  of  Flanders,  he  displayed  to  the  eyes  of 
Europe  the  shameful  sight  of  a  king,  calling  himself 
"  Most  Christian,"  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  two 
acknowledged  mistresses,  sometimes  all  together  in  the 
same  carriage,  sometimes  each  in  her  own  vehicle, 
with  the  royal  guard  riding  at  the  side  of  each.  The 
simple  peasantry,  unable  to  conceive  the  full  impu- 
dence of  crime,  imagined  that  a  new  law  had  been 
framed  for  the  especial  pleasure  of  the  monarch,  and, 
running  forward  to  behold  the  splendid  display  of  con- 
cubinage and  adultery,  asked  each  other  if  they  had 
seen  "  the  three  queens." 

Every  species  of  ostentatious  luxury,  magnificent 
palaces  and  gardens,  works  of  art,  shows  of  pomp  and 
splendor,  and  infinite  sums  of  money,  were  lavished 
upon  these  favorites.  Yet  Louis,  thus  living  in  the 
violation  of  every  moral  duty,  received  high  praise, 
because  he  never  ate  meat  on  a  fast  day,  except 
when  ill,  and  never  was  absent  a  single  day  from  mass, 
but  once,  on  a  very  long  march."  One  after  another, 
his  mistresses  were  discarded  and  new  ones  assumed, 


•HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


249 


till  at  last  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  woman  who  ob- 
tained such  an  influence  over  his  weak  mind  as  to  com- 
pel him  to  make  her  his  wife  ;  and,  in  the  year  1685, 
Louis  the  Fourteenth,  the  proudest  monarch  in  Europe, 
secretly  married  the  widow  of  a  buffoon,  born  in  beg- 
gary, to  whom  he  had  a  few  years  before  refused 
alms.  This  was  Madame  de  Maintenon,  who,  though 
possessing  many  virtues  and  accomplishments,  had 
been  the  wife  of  Scarron,  a  gross,  vulgar,  and  licen- 
tious man,  and  so  ugly  as  to  be  accustomed  to  say  of 
himself,  that  "  Nature  had  made  him  of  the  scrapings 
of  her  pot."  This  woman  almost  enslaved  Louis, 
although  she  was  fifty  years  old  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage.  She  appointed,  removed,  preferred,  or  dis- 
graced ministers,  and  they  were  obliged  to  consult  her 
pleasure  in  every  thing. 

Thus  he  who  was  the  terror  of  Europe,  and  who 
seemed  to  be  the  absolute  master  of  France,  was  con- 
verted into  the  easy  tool  of  a  talented  woman.  While, 
in  the  fancied  exercise  of  an  unfettered  will,  he  issued 
his  commands  to  obedient  millions,  he  was  himself 
controlled  in  almost  every  movement,  and,  though  it  is 
little  to  his  credit,  it  must  be  stated  that  his  govern- 
ment was  benefited  by  this  course.  When  he  had  set 
himself  free  from  all  outward  restraints,  he  was  the 
more  sure  of  having  his  mind  enslaved.  He  was  dis- 
turbed by  no  representative  assembly ;  he  had  silenced 
even  the  judicial  bodies,  which,  before  and  after  him, 
manifested  a  noble  independence.  The  word  peo- 
ple "  no  man  in  the  dominions  would  have  dared  to 
utter  in  any  other  sense  than  that  of  "  slaves."  "  I 
am  the  state,"  said  he.  Dungeons  were  everywhere 
provided  for  the  writers  who  could  be  so  insane  as  to 


250 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


Utter  a  syllable  of  censure  on  his  measures.  The  tor- 
ture was  used  without  scruple ;  the  practice  of  arbi- 
trary imprisonment  was  applied  in  the  most  remorse- 
less manner.  He  confined  a  man  for  many  years, 
whose  condemnation  by  any  competent  tribunal  was 
never  made  public,  under  a  horrid  artifice  which 
stands  alone  in  the  history  of  human  cruelty.  We 
refer  to  the  celebrated  "  Man  in  the  Iron  Mask,"  of 
whom  Voltaire  gives  the  following  account. 

"  A  short  time  before  the  death  of  Cardinal  Maza- 
rin,  there  happened  an  event  unexampled  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  and,  what  is  still  more  surprising,  it 
was  not  known  to  any  of  the  historians  of  that  time. 
An  unknown  prisoner  was  carried  with  the  greatest 
secrecy  to  the  island  of  St.  Marguerite,  on  the  French 
coast  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  he  was  a  tall  young  man, 
with  an  elegant  and  noble  figure.  He  wore  a  mask, 
the  lower  parts  of  which  were  furnished  with  steel 
springs,  so  as  to  allow  him  to  eat  with  the  mask  on. 
His  guards  had  orders  to  kill  him,  should  he  discover 
himself.  He  remained  in  the  island  till  1690,  when  a 
confidential  officer,  named  St.  Mars,  was  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  the  Bastile  at  Paris.  This  officer  transported 
him  from  the  island  to  the  Bastile,  the  prisoner  con- 
stantly wearing  his  mask.  The  Marquis  de  Louvois, 
the  minister  of  war  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  paid  him 
a  visit  while  in  the  island,  and  treated  him  w^ith  a  con- 
sideration bordering  on  respect,  never  sitting  down  in 
his  presence.  This  unknown  personage  was  left  in 
the  Bastile,  and  as  well  accommodated  as  it  was  possi- 
ble to  be  in  that  place.  Whatever  he  requested  was 
granted  him.    He  showed  a  great  partiality  for  lace 


HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


251 


and  fine  linen,  and  played  upon  the  guitar.  His  table 
was  served  in  a  superior  style,  and  the  governor  rarely 
sat  down  in  his  presence.  An  old  physician  of  the 
Bastile,  who  attended  him  often  during  illness,  affirmed 
that  he  never  saw  his  face,  though  he  had  often  exam- 
ined his  tongue  and  the  rest  of  his  body.  This  man 
states  that  he  was  extremely  well  made,  with  a  brown- 
ish tint  of  the  skin ;  the  tone  of  his  voice  was  highly 
interesting,  though  he  never  complained  of  his  situa- 
tion, and  gave  no  sign  to  discover  who  he  was. 

"  This  unfortunate  person  died  in  1703,  and  was  bu- 
ried at  night  in  the  parish  of  St.  Paul.  What  adds  to 
the  mystery  is,  that,  at  the  time  he  was  transported  to 
the  island  of  St.  Marguerite,  no  person  of  any  note 
disappeared  in  Europe.  The  prisoner  was,  without 
doubt,  a  person  of  consequence,  as  may  be  inferred 
from  the  following  circumstance,  which  happened  short- 
ly after  his  arrival  in  that  island.  The  governor  com- 
monly placed  the  dishes  on  the  table  before  him,  and 
then  retired.  One  day  the  prisoner  wrote  something 
with  the  point  of  his  knife  on  a  silver  plate,  and 
threw  it  out  of  the  window  towards  a  boat  which  he 
saw  on  the  beach  near  the  tower.  A  fisherman,  to 
whom  the  boat  belonged,  picked  up  the  plate  and 
brought  it  to  the  governor,  who,  in  great  alarm,  de- 
manded, '  Have  you  read  what  is  written  on  the  plate, 
or  has  any  one  else  read  it  ? '  — 'I  cannot  read,'  re- 
plied the  fisherman,  '  I  have  just  picked  it  up,  and 
nobody  has  seen  it.'  The  governor  kept  him  in  cus- 
tody till  he  had  assured  himself  that  all  this  was  true, 
and  then  dismissed  him,  saying,  '  Go,  't  is  lucky  for 
you  that  you  cannot  read.' 


252     SKETCHES  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

"  Among  many  persons  who  knew  this  singular  his- 
tory, there  is  one  very  trustworthy  individual  still  liv- 
ing (1760).  M.  de  Chamillart  was  the  last  of  the 
ministry  who  possessed  the  knowledge  of  this  strange 
secret.  The  second  Mareschal  de  Feuillade,  his  son- 
in-law,  told  me,  that,  on  the  death  of  M.  de  Chamillart, 
he  begged  him  on  his  knees  to  let  him  know  this  mys- 
tery of  the  person  who  went  by  the  name  of  the  Man 
in  the  Iron  Mask.  M.  de  Chamillart  replied,  that  it 
was  a  secret  of  state,  and  that  he  had  taken  an  oath 
never  to  divulge  it.  Many  of  my  contemporaries  are 
still  living  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the  above  relation. 
I  know  of  no  fact  in  history  better  proved  or  more 
extraordinary." 

Louis  the  Fourteenth  died  in  1715,  leaving  France 
in  a  most  unprosperous  condition,  the  finances  ex- 
hausted, public  morals  corrupted,  and  the  people  op- 
pressed by  enormous  taxes.  He  may  be  said  to  have 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  French  Revolution  by  hi« 
prodigality  and  despotism. 


SPAIN. 


THE  MOORS  IN  SPAIN. 


In  the  eighth  century,  the  Gothic  conquerors  of  Spain 
had  so  far  declined  from  the  valor  of  their  ancestors 
that  they  seemed  no  longer  to  belong  to  that  warlike 
and  enterprising  race  which  humbled  the  pride  of 

VITI.™ 22 


254 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


Rome,  despoiled  the  Queen  of  Nations,  and  penetrated 
from  the  Danube  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  Se- 
cluded from  the  rest  of  the  world  by  the  Pyrenean 
mountains,  the  successors  of  Alaric  had  slumbered  in 
a  long  peace.  The  walls  of  the  cities  were  moulder- 
ing into  dust,  and  the  you^li  1  ud  abandoned  the  exer- 
cise of  arms.  The  wealthy  and  fertile  kingdom  of 
Spain  tempted  the  ambition  and  avarice  of  the  victo- 
rious Saracens,  who  had  now  extended  their  conquests 
along  the  whole  northern  coast  of  Africa. 

The  Spanish  liistorians  and  the  voice  of  tradition 
ascribe  the  first  invasion  of  the  Moors  to  the  forcible 
violation  of  Florinda  by  Roderick,  the  Gothic  king  of 
Spain.  Florinda,  whom  the  Moors  call  Cava,  was  the 
daughter  of  Count  Julian,  one  of  the  king's  principal 
lieutenants,  who,  when  the  crime  was  perpetrated,  was 
engaged  in  the  defence  of  Ceuta,  a  town  on  the  Afri- 
can side  of  the  strait.  In  his  indignation  at  the  ingrati- 
tude of  his  sovereign.  Count  Julian  forgot  the  duties  of 
a  Christian  and  a  patriot.  He  formed  an  alliance 
with  Musa,  the  Moorish  leader,  and  invited  him  to  the 
invasion  of  Spain.  The  memory  of  Florinda  became 
detestable  to  the  Spaniards  from  this  circumstance, 
and  Cervantes  informs  us  that  they  never  bestow^ed 
that  name  upon  any  human  female,  but  reserved  it  for 
their  dogs. 

The  history  of  this  invasion  is  adorned  by  the  most 
highly  colored  romantic  fictions,  among  which  we 
are  tempted  to  select  the  following.  About  a  mile 
from  the  city  of  Toledo  stood  an  ancient  tower,  of  mag- 
nificent structure,  though  much  dilapidated  by  time. 
Underneath  was  a  large  cave,  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock, 


HISTORY  OF  SPAIN. 


255 


and  closed  by  a  massy  iron  gate  with  many  locks. 
Above  the  gate  some  Greek  letters  were  engraved, 
which,  although  abbreviated,  and  of  doubtful  meaning, 
were  thus  interpreted  :  "  The  king  who  opens  this 
cave,  and  can  discover  the  wonders,  will  know  many 
good  and  evil  things."  Several  of  the  Spanish  sove- 
reigns desired  to  know  the  mystery  of  this  tower  ;  but, 
when  they  opened  the  gate,  so  tremendous  a  noise 
arose  in  the  cave,  that  all  were  terrified,  and  some  lost 
their  lives.  At  last.  King  Don  Roderick,  led  on  by  his 
evil  fortune,  opened  the  tower.  He  discovered  a  spa- 
cious and  magnificent  hall,  in  the  middle  of  which 
stood  a  bronze  statue  of  most  ferocious  appearance, 
holding  a  battle-axe  in  his  hands.  With  this  he  struck 
the  floor  violently,  causing  the  terrific  sounds  which 
had  frightened  away  every  other  visitant.  At  the  ap- 
proach of  Eoderick,  the  statue  ceased  his  blows,  and 
the  king  proceeded  to  examine  the  wonders  of  the 
place.  On  the  left  of  the  statue,  he  saw  written  on 
the  wall  these  words :  "  Unhappy  king !  thou  hast 
entered  within  these  walls  in  an  evil  hour  !  "  On  the 
right,  "  By  strange  nations  thou  shalt  be  dispossessed, 
and  thy  subjects  foully  degraded."  On  the  shoulders 
of  the  statue  he  read,  "  I  call  upon  the  Arabs  " ;  and 
upon  his  breast,  "  I  do  my  office."  At  the  entrance 
of  the  hall  was  a  round  bowl,  from  which  a  great  noise, 
like  the  fall  of  waters,  proceeded.  Nothing  else  was 
to  be  seen. 

The  king,  sorrowful,  and  greatly  affected,  had 
scarcely  turned  to  leave  the  cavern,  when  the  statue 
recommenced  its  blows  upon  the  ground.  Roderick 
ordered  his  attendants  not  to  disclose  what  they  had 


256 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


seen,  and  directed  that  the  gate  of  the  cavern  should 
be  blocked  up  with  earth,  that  no  memory  might  re- 
main of  so  portentous  and  ill-boding  a  prodigy.  The 
ensuing  midnight,  they  heard  dreadful  sounds  from  the 
cave,  like  the  noise  of  a  battle,  the  ground  shook  with 
a  tremendous  roar,  and  the  old  tower  fell  with  a  terrible 
crash  into  a  heap  of  ruins. 

In  the  year  710,  an  army  of  five  hundred  Moors  and 
Arabs,  under  a  leader  named  Tarif,  crossed  the  strait 
from  Africa  and  landed  at  a  spot  now  occupied  by  the 
town  of  Tarifa.  They  were  received  in  a  friendly 
manner  at  the  castle  of  Julian,  and,  after  acquiring  a 
rich  spoil,  returned  in  safety.  In  the  ensuing  spring, 
a  stronger  force,  of  five  thousand  men,  embarked  under 
the  command  of  Tarik,  a  dauntless  and  skilful  soldier. 
They  landed  on  that  famous  rock,  which,  from  the 
name  of  their  leader,  was  called  Gebel  Tarik,  or  the 
Mountain  of  Tarik,  now  corrupted  into  Gibraltar. 
Roderick  had  slumbered  over  the  first  invasion,  but  he 
was  awakened  by  the  magnitude  of  the  second.  He 
despatched  his  lieutenant,  Edeco,  with  a  body  of  select 
troops  against  the  invaders ;  but  the  Goths  were  unable 
to  withstand  the  martial  enthusiasm  of  the  Moslem  fa- 
natics. Roderick  was  aroused  to  a  complete  sense  of 
his  danger  by  the  defeat  of  his  lieutenant,  and  took  the 
field  in  person,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  thousand 
men.  The  army  of  Tarik  was  increased,  by  new 
arrivals  from  Africa,  to  twelve  thousand  Moslems,  and 
to  these  were  joined  a  promiscuous  crowd  of  Christian 
malecontents. 

About  two  leagues  from  Cadiz  stood  the  town  of  Xeres, 
destined  to  be  famous  for  two  things,  the  best  wine, 


HISTORY  OF  SPAIN. 


257 


and  the  most  fatal  battle  in  Spain.  Here  the  two 
armies  met  in  an  encounter  which  was  to  decide  the 
fate  of  the  Gothic  monarchy.  Roderick  appeared  at 
the  head  of  his  troops,  encumbered  with  a  flowing 
robe  of  gold  and  silver  embroidery,  his  head  crowned 
with  a  diadem  of  pearls,  and  reclining  on  a  car  of 
ivory  drawn  by  white  mules.  The  battle  commenced 
with  slings,  darts,  javelins,  and  lances.  The  combat- 
ants then  took  to  their  swords  ;  and  the  shouts  and 
cries  of  both  armies,  with  the  noise  of  the  Moorish 
drums  and  Gothic  trumpets,  seemed  to  shake  the  earth. 
Notwithstanding  the  intrepidity  of  the  Moslems,  they 
seemed  fainting  under  the  weight  of  multitudes,  and 
the  plain  of  Xeres  was  overspread  with  their  dead 
bodies.  "  My  brothers,"  said  Tarik,  "  the  enemy  is 
before  you,  the  sea  is  behind  !  Whither  would  you 
fly  ?  Follow  your  general !  I  am  resolved  either  to 
lose  my  life,  or  trample  on  the  prostrate  king  of  the 
Visigoths  !  " 

The  renewed  exertions  of  the  Moslems  were  second- 
ed in  the  crisis  of  the  battle  by  the  treachery  of  Op- 
pas,  the  archbishop,  who  suddenly  went  over  to  the 
enemy  with  a  large  train  of  followers.  The  Goths, 
struck  with  panic  at  this  unexpected  turn  of  affairs, 
gave  way,  and  took  to  flight.  Roderick,  seeing  the 
battle  lost,  leaped  from  his  chariot,  and  mounted  Ore- 
lia,  the  fleetest  of  his  horses.  The  rout  and  disper- 
sion of  his  army  were  complete.  What  became  of  the 
king  never  was  known.  His  diadem,  his  robes,  and 
his  steed  were  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Guadalete,  a 
little  stream  which  skirted  the  field  of  battle  ;  but  Rod- 
erick was  never  seen  afterwards.  A  belief  was  cur- 
17  22* 


258 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


rent  among  tho  Spaniards,  that  he  fled  to  a  hermit's 
cell,  concealing  his  disgrace,  and  eluding  the  search 
of  the  enemy,  in  the  disguise  of  an  anchorite.  It  is 
more  probable  that  he  was  drowned  in  the  river. 

The  battle  of  Xeres  put  an  end  to  the  glory,  the 
name,  and  the  empire  of  the  Goths  in  Spain.  The 
victorious  Musa  spread  his  conquests  to  the  North  over 
Castile  and  Leon.  The  terrified  cities  opened  their 
gates,  and  surrendered  their  treasures,  on  his  approach. 
The  celebrated  table,  of  one  single  solid  emerald,  en- 
circled with  three  rows  of  fine  pearls,  and  supported  by 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  of  gems  and  massy 
gold,  acquired  by  the  Goths  among  the  spoils  of  Rome, 
was  presented  by  Musa  to  the  sovereign  of  Damascus. 
Spain,  which,  in  a  mere  savage  and  disorderly  state, 
had  resisted,  for  two  centuries,  the  arms  of  the  Ro- 
mans, was  overrun  in  a  few  months  by  the  Moorish 
conquerors.  This  kingdom,  which  had  been  succes- 
sively tinctured  with  Punic,  Roman,  and  Gothic  blood, 
adopted,  in  a  few  generations,  the  institutions  and 
manners  of  the  Arabs.  The  scanty  remnant  of  the 
Christians,  who  rejected  their  yoke,  became  almost  lost 
to  the  view  of  history.  After  the  disastrous  day  of 
Xeres,  and  the  reduction  of  Seville  and  Merida,  a  band 
of  fugitives  still  cherished  the  flame  of  liberty  in  the 
Asturian  valleys.  In  a  life  of  poverty  and  freedom, 
their  former  virtues  revived  ;  and,  in  many  a  bloody 
encounter,  they  asserted  against  the  fanatics  of  Arabia 
their  descent  from  the  hardy  warriors  of  the  North. 
Amidst  their  trackless  retreats,  they  preserved  with 
care  and  aflection  their  ancient  laws  and  customs;  and, 
under  the  guidance  of  Pelagius  or  Don  Pelayo,  they  at 


HISTORY  OF  SPAIN. 


259 


length  achieved  such  successes  as  awakened  the  Moors 
from  the  illusion  that  all  resistance  to  their  dominion  in 
Spain  was  extinguished.  The  perpetual  contests  be- 
tween the  two  nations  from  this  period  down  to  the 
overthrow  of  the  Moorish  dominion  by  the  conquest 
of  Granada,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  are  dignified  by 
the  Spanish  historians  with  the  name  of  a  war  of  seven 
hundred  years. 

In  the  first  period  of  this  long  struggle,  the  Arabs 
carried  learning  and  the  arts  to  a  degree  of  cultivation 
far  beyond  any  thing  known  in  the  Christian  parts  of 
Spain.  Those  wild  enthusiasts  learned,  on  the  Euro- 
pean soil,  to  estimate  the  value  of  civilized  life,  with  a 
rapidity  as  astonishing  as  that  which  distinguished  the 
social  improvement  of  their  brethren  whom  they  had 
left  behind  in  Asia,  under  the  government  of  the  Ca- 
liphs. Before  the  era  of  Mohammed,  their  language 
had  been  cultivated  and  adapted  to  poetry  and  elo- 
quence, according  to  the  laws  of  Oriental  taste.  In 
Spain,  it  soon  acquired,  even  among  the  conquered 
Christians,  a  superiority  over  the  barbarous  dialect  of 
the  country,  which  was  then  governed  by  no  rule. 
This  rude  language  was  soon  forgotten  in  all  parts 
under  the  Moorish  dominion ;  and  the  Oriental  speech 
and  manners  soon  began  to  exercise  a  strong  influence 
over  the  independent  Christians.  The  intervals  of  re- 
pose, which  formed  short  links  in  the  chain  of  their 
sanguinary  conflicts,  aflx)rded  them  some  opportunities 
for  the  interchange  of  the  arts  of  peace,  and  they 
were  soon  taught  to  feel  for  each  other  that  involun- 
tary respect  which  the  brave  can  never  withhold  from 
brave  adversaries. 


260 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


The  Arab,  who,  in  his  native  deserts,  had  not  been 
accustomed  to  impose  on  women  half  the  despotic 
restraints  to  which  the  sex  is  subject  in  the  harems 
of  Mohammedan  cities,  was  soon  disposed  to  imitate 
the  gallantry  of  the  descendants  of  the  Goths  ;  and 
still  more  readily  did  the  imagination  of  the  Christian 
knight,  in  a  climate  which  was  far  from  being  un- 
genial,  even  to  African  invaders,  acquire  an  Oriental 
loftiness.  Thus  arose  the  spirit  of  Spanish  knight- 
hood, which  was,  in  reality,  only  a  particular  form  of 
the  general  chivalrous  spirit  then  prevailing  in  most 
of  the  countries  of  Europe  ;  but  which,  under  that 
form,  impressed,  in  an  equal  degree,  on  the  old  Euro- 
pean Spaniard  an  Oriental,  and  on  the  Spanish  Moor 
a  European,  character. 

Literature,  and  the  elegant  and  useful  arts,  were 
carried  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence  by  the  Spanish 
Moors,  while  the  rest  of  Europe  remained  sunk  in 
barbarism.  The  munificence  and  taste  of  their  sov- 
ereigns were  most  ostentatiously  displayed  in  their 
public  edifices,  palaces,  mosques,  and  hospitals,  and  in 
the  construction  of  commodious  quays,  fountains, 
bridges,  and  aqueducts,  which,  penetrating  the  sides  of 
the  mountains,  or  sweeping  on  lofty  arches  across  the 
valleys,  rivalled  in  their  proportions  the  works  of  an* 
cient  Rome.  The  great  mosque  of  Cordova,  now  a 
Christian  cathedral,  bears  testimony,  at  the  present 
day,  to  the  architectural  skill  and  magnificence  of  the 
infidels.  This  edifice  covers  more  ground  than  any 
other  church  in  Christendom.  It  was  completed  about 
the  year  800.  A  thousand  columns  of  the  richest 
marble  astonish  the  spectator,  at  the  first  step  into 


HISTORY  OF  SPAIN. 


261 


this  gorgeous  pile.  Twenty-four  gates  of  bronze, 
richly  embossed,  formerly  gave  entrance  to  the  Mus- 
sulman worshipper ;  but  these  have  disappeared,  as 
well  as  the  four  thousand  seven  hundred  lamps  which 
illuminated  it  every  night.  The  main  entrance  had  its 
folding  doors  covered  with  plates  of  gold,  and  on  the 
highest  cupola  were  three  golden  balls  sustaining  a 
golden  pomegranate  and  lily. 

Three  miles  from  Cordova  stood  another  edifice, 
which  offered  a  still  more  astonishing  display  of  the 
magnificence  and  wealth  of  the  Moorish  sovereigns. 
The  palace  of  Zebra,  with  its  gardens  and  accom- 
paniments, was  constructed  by  one  of  the  Ommiades 
for  his  favorite  sultana.  The  labor  of  twenty-five  years, 
and  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  were  expended  upon 
this  spot.  The  artists  of  Constantinople,  and  the  most 
skilful  sculptors  and  architects  of  the  age,  were  em- 
ployed by  his  liberal  taste  in  the  design  and  execution 
of  this  splendid  pile.  Twelve  hundred  columns  of 
beautiful  marble  adorned  the  palace.  The  hall  of  au- 
dience was  encrusted  with  gold  and  pearls.  In  the  cen- 
tre of  the  principal  saloon,  which  was  adorned  with 
golden  arabesques,  and  the  walls  of  which  were  stud- 
ded with  precious  stones,  was  a  magnificent  alabaster 
vase,  from  which  issued  a  fountain  of  quicksilver,  glis- 
tening with  the  blaze  of  innumerable  lamps  of  crystal. 

The  royal  fortress  or  palace  of  the  Alhambra,  was 
the  pride  of  Granada,  —  a  city,  which,  in  the  days  of  its 
glory,  could  send  fifty  thousand  warriors  from  its  gates, 
and  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  with  one  thousand  and 
thirty  towers.  The  Alhambra  was  sufficiently  large  to 
contain  forty  thousand  men ;  and  its  magnificent  ruins 


262 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


form  the  most  interesting  object  in  Spain  for  the  con- 
templation of  the  traveller.  Its  graceful  porticos  and 
colonnades,  its  domes  and  ceilings,  glowing  with  tints 
which  have  lost  nothing  of  their  original  brilliancy  in 
that  pure  atmosphere,  its  airy  halls  and  cooling  foun- 
tains, show  the  taste,  opulence,  and  luxury  of  the 
builders,  Granada,  under  the  Moors,  was  the  great 
commercial  mart  of  Europe,  and  its  sovereigns  were 
distinguished  for  their  liberality  and  taste.  They  free- 
ly dispensed  their  revenues  in  the  protection  of  letters, 
the  construction  of  sumptuous  public  works,  and  in  the 
display  of  a  courtly  pomp  unrivalled  by  any  of  the 
princes  of  that  period.  Fifty  colleges  and  academies 
were  scattered  over  the  suburbs  and  populous  plains 
of  Granada.  The  Spanish  Arabs  emulated  their  East- 
ern countrymen  in  their  devotion  to  science.  Their 
travellers  penetrated  into  the  remotest  regions  of  Afri- 
ca and  Asia,  transmitting  an  exact  account  of  their 
discoveries  to  the  national  academies.  They  con- 
tributed to  astronomical  knowledge  by  the  number  and 
accuracy  of  their  observations,  and  by  the  improve- 
ment of  instruments,  and  the  erection  of  observatories, 
of  which  the  noble  tower  of  Seville  is  one  of  the  ear- 
liest examples.  The  copious  catalogues  of  writers,  still 
extant  in  the  Escurial,  show  how  extensively  the  culti- 
vation of  science  was  pursued  by  them.  They  pro- 
duced no  less  than  thirteen  hundred  historical  writers, 
and  one  of  their  scholars  published  one  thousand  and 
fifty  treatises  upon  the  various  topics  of  ethics,  history, 
law,  medicine,  &c.  Granada,  Cordova,  Seville,  and 
all  the  other  great  cities  of  the  Peninsula,  rivalled  each 
Other  in  the  magnificence  of  their  schools,  colleges,  and 


HISTORY  OF  SPAIN. 


263 


-  academies.  Seventy  public  libraries  were  open  to  the 
Moorish  students  in  Spain,  at  a  time  when  all  the  rest 
of  Europe  was  without  science,  literature,  or  cultiva- 
tion of  manners.  The  dormant  energies  of  Christen- 
dom received  a  strong  impulse  from  the  Spanish  Moors. 
Their  writings  were  translated  and  diffused  throughout 
Europe  ;  the  Christians,  roused  from  their  lethargy, 
caught  something  of  the  taste  and  civilization  of  the 
infidels,  and  a  healthful  action  was  thus  communicat- 
ed to  the  European  intellect. 

During  eight  centuries  of  the  dominion  of  the  Moors 
in  Spain,  they  exhibited  all  the  various  phases  of  civili- 
zation, from  its  dawn  to  its  decline.  Their  constant 
wars  with  the  Spaniards  at  length  terminated  in  the 
conquest  of  Granada  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  at  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  the  Moorish  domin- 
ion in  Spain  was  at  an  end.  They  were  driven  from 
the  stately  palaces  reared  by  their  own  hands,  wander- 
ed as  exiles  over  the  lands  which  still  blossomed  with 
the  fruits  of  their  industry,  and  wasted  away  under 
persecution,  till  their  very  name  as  a  nation  was  blotted 
out  from  the  map  of  history.  Under  the  appellation 
of  Moriscos,  they  remained  subjects  of  Spain  till  the 
reign  of  Philip  the  Third,  when  religious  bigotry  ex- 
pelled them  from  the  soil.  A  few,  who  preferred 
death  to  exile,  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  endeavoured 
to  defend  themselves ;  but  they  were  hunted  by  their 
inhuman  tyrants  like  wild  beasts  ;  part  perished  by  the 
sword,  part  by  hunger  ;  their  chief  was  made  prisoner, 
and,  after  suffering  every  insult  that  triumphant  tyranny 
could  devise,  was  publicly  executed.  By  this  act  of 
wanton  cruelty  and  injustice,  Spain  was  robbed  of  four 
hundred  thousand  of  her  most  industrious  inhabitants. 


RUSSIA. 


PETER  THE  GREAT. 

Russia  is  indebted  to  this  sovereign  for  much  of  her 
present  greatness.  He  was  a  barbarian,  but  a  bar- 
barian who  possessed  great  qualities.  He  changed  the 
manners,  customs,  and  laws  of  the  empire  ;  and,  though 
he  ruled  his  subjects  with  the  most  arbitrary  despotism, 
he  still  lives  in  the  memory  of  the  Russians  as  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  The  history  of  his  reign  offers 
one  of  the  most  singular  chapters  in  the  annals  of 
Europe. 

He  was  the  third  son  of  the  Czar  Alexis  Michaelo- 
vitz,  a  man  of  a  liberal  mind,  who  had  accomplished 
some  reforms  and  improvements  in  the  political  and 
social  condition  of  the  empire.  Peter  was  born  at 
Moscow,  on  the  11th  of  June,  1672.  On  the  death  of 
his  eldest  brother,  Feodor,  he  was  nominated  to  the 
succession  in  preference  to  his  brother  Iwan,  who  was 
set  aside  for  incapacity.  Their  sister,  the  princess 
Sophia,  taking  umbrage  at  this,  set  on  foot  a  mutiny 
of  the  Strelitzes  or  guards,  and  a  revolution  took  place, 
accompanied  with  much  bloodshed.    Peter's  maternal 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA.  265 

kindred  and  all  their  adherents  fell  by  massacre.  Peter 
narrowly  escaped  with  his  life  ;  he  fled,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  insurrection,  to  a  convent  near  Mos- 
cow, and  w£is  pursued  by  the  Strelitzes,  who  found 
him  before  the  altar,  and  were  deterred  from  striking 
a  fatal  blow  only  by  feelings  of  reverence  or  super- 
stition. The  commotions  were  at  length  quieted  by 
an  accommodation,  Iwan  and  Peter  were  proclaimed 
joint  sovereigns.  Both  were  crowned  accordingly; 
and  the  Princess  Sophia  was  declared  regent,  as  both 
the  Czars  were  boys.  The  schemes  of  this  ambitious 
princess  thus  seemed  to  be  fully  accomplished. 

Notwithstanding  Peter's  youth,  —  he  being  only  ten 
years  of  age,  at  the  time  of  the  revolution,  —  he  appears 
to  have  given  some  indications  of  great  qualities,  which 
excited  the  jealousy  of  his  profligate  sister,  who  dread- 
ed lest  he  might  one  day  prove  the  ruin  of  her  author- 
ity. She  accordingly  did  not  scruple  to  form  a  plan 
to  corrupt  his  morals  and  cripple  the  energies  of  his 
mind.  His  education  was  neglected,  and  he  was  en- 
couraged in  every  species  of  excess  and  debauchery, 
by  being  placed  amidst  the  most  profligate  compan- 
ions. But,  as  a  good  education  can  never  create  a 
great  character,  neither  can  a  bad  one  utterly  spoil  it. 
Heroic  qualities  may  be  modified,  but  they  cannot  be 
extinguished,  by  accidents.  Peter  contracted  early 
habits  of  intemperance,  and  coarseness  of  manners  ;  his 
natural  violence  of  temper  was  augmented,  and  his 
health  impaired,  by  his  intercourse  with  these  vicious 
companions  ;  but  his  manly  spirit  was  not  broken,  and 
he  soon  showed  a  disposition  to  rebel  against  the  con- 
trol which  was  exercised  over  him. 

VIII.— 23 


266 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  Peter,  to  whom  the  Rus- 
sians are  indebted  for  the  creation  of  their  navy,  enter- 
tained in  his  youth  a  most  unconquerable  antipathy  to 
the  water.  From  the  sixth  to  the  fourteenth  }  ear  of  his 
age,  he  was  so  fearful  of  this  element,  that  he  could 
not  look  upon  so  much  as  a  pond  or  a  rivulet  without 
the  greatest  terror.  For  this  reason  he  never  walked  in 
the  garden  of  the  palace,  which  is  watered  by  the 
river  Moskwa  ;  nor  would  he  traverse  a  bridge  which 
crossed  the  smallest  brook,  unless  the  windows  of  his 
coach  were  shut  close.  This  remarkable  disposition 
originated  in  an  accident.  When  he  was  about  five 
years  old,  his  mother  had  him  one  day  asleep  in  her 
lap  as  she  was  riding  in  her  coach.  Passing  over  a 
dam  where  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  water,  the  loud 
noise  awaked  him  in  such  a  fright  as  threw  him  into 
a  fever,  which,  after  he  recovered,  left  on  his  spirits  a 
terror  of  the  water,  that  nothing  apparently  could  over- 
come. 

With  the  maturity  of  his  faculties,  he  grew  more 
and  more  dissatisfied  with  the  authority  of  his  sister. 
He  married  against  her  will,  in  his  eighteenth  year, 
and  claimed  a  seat  at  the  council  board.  Violent  alter- 
cations arose  between  them.  Sophia  was  ambitious  and 
overbearing,  Peter  was  irascible  and  stubborn.  An 
open  rupture  was  the  consequence.  She  excluded 
him  from  the  council,  and  is  said  to  have  formed  a 
conspiracy,  in  conjunction  with  Prince  Galitzin,  against 
his  life  or  liberty.  The  chief  of  the  Strelitzes  and  six 
hundred  others  of  that  body  were  engaged  in  the  plot, 
and  Peter  with  difficulty  escaped  to  a  monastery.  He 
was  there  joined  by  loyal  subjects  from  all  quarters, 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


267 


so  that  he  was  soon  enabled  to  seize  all  the  disaffected 
persons.  By  force  of  torture,  a  confession  of  the 
conspiracy  was  obtained,  Sophia  was  confined  for  life 
in  a  convent,  Galitzin  was  banished  to  Siberia,  and 
Peter  assumed  the  reins  of  government  in  1689.  His 
brother  Iwan  never  interfered  with  his  authority,  and 
died  in  1696. 

He  immediately  began  the  vast  undertaking  of  re- 
forming the  whole  system  of  government  and  the  man- 
ners of  the  people,  in  which  he  was  opposed  by  the 
jealousies  of  every  class  of  his  subjects,  who  looked 
upon  these  changes  as  subversive  of  their  ancient  con- 
stitution. Peter's  untiring  energy,  however,  overcame 
all  obstacles.  He  first  directed  his  attention  to  the 
army.  He  entered  the  ranks  as  a  private  soldier,  and 
rose  through  all  the  intermediate  stages  before  he  ob- 
tained a  commission.  He  caused  all  the  young  nobles 
to  follow  his  example.  He  made  the  soldiers  lay  aside 
their  long  coats,  shave  their  beards,  and  dress  their 
hair,  and  in  a  very  short  time  he  had  an  army  of  five 
thousand  men,  disciplined  and  trained  on  the  German 
plan.  He  had  by  much  practice  conquered  his  youth- 
ful aversion  for  the  water,  and,  walking  one  day  by 
the  river  at  Moscow,  had  his  curiosity  aroused  by  the 
sight  of  a  decayed  sloop,  of  foreign  construction,  which 
he  was  told  would  sail  against  the  wind.  He  caused 
the  vessel  to  be  repaired  by  a  Dutch  shipwright  whom 
his  father  had  invited  into  Russia,  and  took  much 
pleasure  in  watching  her  manoeuvres.  He  learned  to 
manage  her  himself,  and  soon  after  had  several  small 
vessels  built,  with  which  he  made  excursions  on  the 
iake  of  Perislav.    His  partiality  for  ships  increased  in 


268 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


such  a  manner,  that,  in  1693,  he  visited  the  port  of 
Archangel,  and  made  a  short  voyage  on  the  White 
Sea,  attended  by  all  the  merchant  vessels  in  the  harbour. 
In  the  following  year,  he  spent  several  months  in  simi- 
lar excursions.  His  attachment  for  every  thing  con- 
nected v/ith  maritime  affairs  now  grew  to  a  passion, 
and  he  resolved  to  be  no  longer  dependent  on  for- 
eigners for  his  ships  ;  accordingly  he  sent  a  number  of 
young  Russians  to  Venice,  Leghorn,  and  Holland,  to 
learn  the  art  of  ship-building. 

In  1694,  a  war  with  the  Turks  opened  to  him  views 
of  aggrandizement  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  next 
year  he  marched  with  an  army  to  besiege  Azof.  A 
naval  force  was  found  necessary,  and  Peter  equipped  a 
flotilla  with  such  celerity  that  he  was  enabled  the  year 
following  to  defeat  the  Turkish  galleys  and  capture 
the  place.  Of  this  conquest  he  was  justly  proud.  He 
caused  his  army  to  make  a  triumphal  entry  into  Mos- 
cow, in  which  his  generals  and  admirals  took  the  pre- 
cedence over  himself,  as  the  Czar  had  served  only  as 
a  volunteer  in  the  campaign. 

As  his  mind  expanded,  he  became  more  sensible  of 
the  barbarism  of  his  vast  empire,  and  of  his  own  defi- 
ciency in  knowledge  to  improve  and  civilize  it.  He 
resolved  to  educate  himself  by  foreign  travel,  not  in 
the  ordinary  manner  of  royal  tours,  which  generally 
serve  but  for  the  gratification  of  a  vague  curiosity, 
but  by  a  residence  of  some  duration  in  those  places 
which  he  thought  most  proper  for  affording  the  instruc- 
tion he  wanted.  It  was  an  interesting  and  extraordi- 
nary circumstance  in  the  history  of  mankind,  that  the 
despotic  monarch  of  a  mighty  dominion  should  descend 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


269 


from  the  throne,  and  travel  in  the  train  of  his  own 
ambassadors  as  a  private  person,  rejecting  all  the  pa- 
geantry of  state,  and  disdaining  no  means  which  ap- 
peared necessary  to  perfect  himself  in  those  arts  which 
he  thought  of  essential  importance  to  his  country.  He 
began  his  journey  in  1697.  The  first  country  in 
w^hich  he  made  any  stay  was  Holland,  taking  up  his 
quarters  in  the  admiralty  yard  at  Amsterdam.  In  the 
disguise  of  a  Dutch  skipper,  he  went  to  the  famous 
ship-building  town  of  Saardam,  where  he  worked  as  a 
common  carpenter  and  blacksmith,  clad  and  fed  like 
his  fellow-laborers.  People  were  strictly  prohibited 
from  standing  about  him  or  going  to  gaze  at  him,  — 
things  which  gave  him  great  uneasiness.  The  follow- 
ing year,  he  visited  England,  and  took  lodgings  at  the 
navy-yard  of  Deptford,  devoting  his  time  principally  to 
the  acquisition  of  maritime  knowledge.  The  variety 
of  religious  sects,  both  in  England  and  Holland,  attract- 
ed his  notice,  and  probably  gave  him  those  views  of 
the  benefits  of  religious  toleration  upon  which  he  al- 
wsljs  acted  in  his  intercourse  with  foreigners.  From 
England  he  proceeded  to  Vienna,  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  the  military  discipline  of  the  Austrians. 

His  return  to  Russia  was  hastened  by  the  news  of  a 
formidable  rebellion  which  had  broken  out  among  the 
Strelitzes,  fomented  by  some  of  the  old  nobility  and 
clergy,  who  hated  all  innovations.  A  body  of  eight 
thousand  of  this  licentious  soldiery  collected  on  the 
borders  of  Lithuania,  and  marched  towards  Moscow, 
with  the  intention  of  placing  on  the  throne  the  Princess 
Sophia,  who  is  accused  of  having  secretly  instigated 
their  revolt.  This  attempt,  however,  was  quickly  de- 
23* 


270 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


feated  by  General  Gordon,  the  commander  of  Peter's 
troops,  who  killed  and  made  prisoners  nearly  all  the 
rebels.  Those  who  were  captured  suffered  the  severest 
punishment.  Two  thousand  of  them  were  hanged, 
the  body  of  the  Strelitzes  was  broken  up,  and  the  very 
name  abolished.  New  regiments  were  formed  upon 
the  German  model  ;  and  the  dress  and  discipline  of  the 
rest  of  Europe  were  introduced  into  the  Russian  army. 

Peter  proceeded  with  similar  vigor  in  his  other 
meditated  reforms.  He  altered  the  calendar  by  re- 
moving the  beginning  of  the  year  from  September  to 
January.  In  all  the  lesser  manners  and  customs  he 
introduced  alterations,  the  object  of  which  was  to  as- 
similate the  Russians  to  the  more  polished  nations 
of  Europe.  In  many  things  he  was  too  precipitate, 
and  in  others  he  did  not  well  understand  the  peculiar 
circumstances  and  character  of  his  subjects.  In  gen- 
eral, the  impatience  of  his  temper  and  his  despotic 
will  led  him  to  look  for  effects  before  the  causes  were 
duly  prepared,  —  the  common  fault  of  arbitrary  power. 
He  wished  to  make  his  people  orderly,  polished,  and 
industrious,  without  giving  them  either  education,  prop- 
erty, or  freedom.  Desiring  to  raise  a  magnificent 
structure,  he  provided  the  ornaments  before  clearing 
away  the  rubbish,  or  laying  the  foundation.  He  com- 
pelled his  nobles  to  travel  into  other  countries,  without 
preparing  them  by  any  previous  education,  or  provid- 
ing society  or  occupation  for  them  on  their  return. 
He  shaved  the  beards  of  his  barbarians  by  force,  and 
fancied  that  they  would  act,  because  they  looked,  like 
polished  men.  He  did  not  scruple  at  reforms  which 
required  the  aid  of  the  axe  and  the  knout ;  and,  blinded 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


271 


with  the  plenitude  of  that  power  to  which  he  trusted 
for  success,  he  did  not  perceive,  in  that  abasement 
which  made  his  slaves  kiss  the  rod  with  which  he 
struck  them,  an  invincible  obstacle  to  his  preposterous 
ambition  of  enriching  a  nation  of  serfs  with  the  treas- 
ures of  civilization. 

In  his  war  with  Charles  the  Twelfth  of  Sweden,  he 
at  first  suffered  defeat,  owing  to  the  superior  discipline 
of  the  Swedish  troops.  But  Peter  was  not  a  man  to 
be  dispirited  by  a  failure,  and  his  perseverance  at 
length  enabled  him  to  overthrow  his  enemy  completely 
at  the  battle  of  Pultawa.  He  conquered  Finland  in 
1713  and  1714.  His  military  enterprises  were  mostly 
crowned  with  success,  and  large  additions  were  made 
to  his  empire  by  the  peace  of  Neustadt  in  1721.  He 
had  now  attained  the  summit  of  his  glory.  He  was 
requested,  and  after  some  hesitation  consented,  to  adopt 
the  titles  of  "  Peter  the  Great,  Emperor  of  all  the 
Russias,  and  Father  of  his  Country."  This  was  done 
amid  great  rejoicings,  which  continued  for  fifteen  days. 
He  now  turned  his  undivided  attention  to  the  arts  of 
peace.  He  made  canals  to  unite  navigable  rivers,  en- 
couraged by  bounties  the  manufacture  of  woollen  and 
linen  cloths,  the  erection  of  corn,  powder,  and  sawing 
mills ;  established  a  manufactory  of  small  arms,  insti- 
tuted hospitals,  established  a  uniformity  of  weights  and 
measures,  founded  an  academy  of  sciences,  collected 
books,  pictures,  &c. 

The  most  magnificent  monument  of  his  reign  is  the 
city  of  St.  Petersburg,  founded  by  him  in  1703,  in  a 
marsh  surrounded  by  forests.  A  vast  number  of  lives 
were  expended  in  carrying  on  the  labors  necessary  for 


272 


SKETCHES  FROM  THE 


this  gigantic  undertaking,  amidst  innumerable  liard- 
ships  of  every  sort ;  but  human  hfe  was  a  trifling  object 
in  the  consideration  of  Peter.  Nothing  could  be  more 
arbitrary  than  the  means  he  took  to  fill  the  new  capital 
v/ith  inhabitants,  one  of  which  was,  compelling  all  the 
nobility  and  principal  merchants  to  have  houses  there. 
It  was  peopled,  however,  chiefly  by  the  foreigners 
v/hom  he  settled  in  his  dominions^  and,  to  this  day, 
foreigners  and  their  descendants  make  a  great  part  of 
its  population,  and  have  given  the  tone  to  its  character 
and  appearance.  The  removal  of  the  metropolis  to  a 
corner  of  this  vast  empire,  at  such  a  distance  from  the 
most  fertile  and  populous  districts,  has  been  by  many 
considered  an  impolitic  sacrifice  made  by  Peter  to  his 
ruling  passion.  It  was,  however,  powerfully  instru- 
mental in  civilizing  the  Russians,  by  breaking  through 
those  national  habits  of  life  which  were  fostered  in  the 
barbaric  grandeur  of  Moscow. 

Peter  married  a  parish  foundling,  who  afterwards 
governed  Russia  as  the  Empress  Catharine  the  First. 
By  the  sweetness  of  her  temper  and  the  charm  of  her 
manners,  she  was  able  to  soften  the  violence  of  her 
husband  in  the  paroxysms  of  gloomy  rage  to  which  he 
was  subject,  and  she  retained  her  influence  over  him 
to  the  end  of  his  life.  By  a  former  marriage  he  had  a 
son  named  Alexis,  whose  history  forms  a  dark  chapter 
in  Peter's  life,  and  has  left  a  stain  on  his  memory. 
The  education  of  this  young  prince  was  much  neglect- 
ed, and  he  grew  up  ignorant,  debauched,  and  full  of 
vulgar  and  obstinate  prejudice  against  all  his  father's 
improvements.  In  consequence  of  his  disorderly  be- 
haviour, Peter  first  excluded  him  from  the  succession 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 


273 


to  the  crown,  and  subsequently  brought  him  to  trial  for 
high  treason,  on  a  charge  of  conspiracy  to  depose  his 
father.  A  confession  was  extorted  from  him,  and  he 
was  condemned  to  death.  The  next  day  he  died  in 
convulsions,  and  there  were  suspicions  that  he  had  been 
forced  to  take  poison.  The  whole  of  this  tragic  affair 
is  shrouded  in  mystery.  It  is  certain  that  Peter  showed 
little  paternal  affection,  and  he  punished  with  extreme 
barbarity  all  whom  his  son  named  as  his  confidants. 

Peter  the  Great  died  on  the  28th  of  January,  1725, 
in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age.  He  was  of  a  lofty 
stature,  and  of  a  commanding,  but  coarse  and  fero- 
cious countenance.  His  gestures  were  quick  and  im- 
patient ;  his  speech  fluent  and  animated.  His  charac- 
ter was  compounded  of  striking  contradictions.  Be- 
nevolence and  humanity  were  as  conspicuous  in  him 
as  a  total  disregard  of  human  life.  He  was  at  once 
kind-hearted,  and  severe  even  to  ferocity.  Without 
education  himself,  he  promoted  arts,  sciefice,  and 
literature.  He  gave  a  polish  to  his  people,  and  was 
himself  a  savage.  He  taught  them  the  art  of  war,  of 
which  he  was  himself  ignorant.  From  the  sight  of  a 
small  boat  in  a  river,  he  created  a  powerful  fleet,  and 
made  himself  an  expert  and  active  shipwright,  sailor, 
pilot,  and  commander.  His  manners  and  tastes  were 
gross  and  boorish.  While  in  Englatid,  he  passed  his 
nights  either  in  a  pot-house  near  Tower  Hill,  regaling 
himself  in  low  company,  with  beer  and  tobacco,  or 
with  King  William,  drinking  brandy  and  pepper. 

In  1717,  he  visited  the  king  of  Prussia,  at  Berlin, 
with  his  empress  and  whole  court.  A  most  amusing 
account  of  this  visit  may  be  found  in  the  Memoirs  of 
18 


274      SKETCHES  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA. 

the  Princess  of  Bareith,  written  by  herself.  "On his 
first  presentation,  the  Czar  took  the  king  by  the  hand, 
and  told  him  he  was  glad  to  see  him  ;  he  then  offered 
to  kiss  the  queen,  but  she  declined  the  honor.  He 
next  presented  his  son  and  daughter,  and  four  hundred 
iadies- in- waiting,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  wash- 
erwomen and  scullions  promoted  to  that  nominal  dignity. 
Almost  every  one  of  them  had  an  infant,  richly  dressed, 
in  her  arms."  The  Czar  took  the  princess  up  in  his 
arms,  and  in  kissing  her  rubbed  the  skin  off  her  face 
with  his  rough  beard,  laughing  very  heartily  at  the  airs 
with  which  she  resented  this  familiarity.  He  was  lia- 
ble, at  times,  to  convulsive  starts  and  spasms,  and  being 
seized  in  this  manner  when  at  table,  with  his  knife  in 
his  hand,  put  his  hosts  into  no  little  bodily  terror.  He 
told  the  queen,  however,  that  he  would  do  her  no 
harm,  and  took  her  hand  in  token  of  his  good  humor, 
but  squeezed  it  so  unmercifully  that  she  was  obliged 
to  cry  out ;  at  which  he  laughed  again  with  great  vio- 
lence, and  said  "  her  bones  were  not  so  well  knit  as 
his  Catharine's."  What  pleased  him  most  among  the 
curiosities  of  Berlin  was  a  piece  of  antique  sculpture, 
most  grossly  indecent.  He  insisted  that  his  wife  should 
kiss  this  figure,  and,  when  she  hesitated,  he  told  her 
he  would  cut  off  her  head  if  she  refused.  He  then 
begged  this  piece,  and  several  other  things  of  value, 
trom  the  king,  and  packed  them  off  for  St.  Petersburg 
without  ceremony.  In  a  few  days  he  took  his  depar- 
ture, leaving  the  palace,  in  which  he  had  been  lodged, 
m  a  most  extraordinary  state  of  filth  and  dilapidation. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


CHIVALRY  AND  KNIGHT-ERRANTRY. 


The  chivalry  of  the  Gothic  nations  began  in  the 
woods  of  Germany.  No  youth  was  then  permitted  to 
assume  arms,  at  that  time  the  great  privilege  of  the 
noble  and  the  free,  at  his  own  pleasure.    It  was  made 


276 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


a  social  rank,  to  which  it  was  necessary  that  the  as- 
piring candidates  should  be  elected  in  the  piibhc  coun- 
cils of  their  rude  commonwealth  ;  and  the  emulated 
distinction  was  then  solemnly  conferred  by  the  prince, 
or  a  kinsman,  giving  them  a  javelin  and  a  shield.  In 
these  customs  we  see  the  origin  of  knighthood.  As 
the  Christian  clergy  prevailed  in  Europe,  and  became 
a  constituent  portion  of  the  national  councils  of  every 
country,  they  made  religion  a  part  of  the  ceremonial 
on  these  elections.  They  caused  an  oath  to  be  im- 
posed on  the  knight.  They  made  the  protection  of  the 
Church  a  part  of  his  duty,  and  extended  this  to  the 
assistance  of  the  weak  and  injured  ;  and  they  gained 
an  influence  over  his  mind  by  consecrating  his  sword 
and  belt  on  the  altar.  Chivalry,  thus  improved  by  its 
religious  ceremonial  and  obligations,  became  an  im- 
portant agent  in  civilizing  the  fierce  and  predatory 
warriors  of  the  Gothic  nations.  It  led  their  rude  minds 
to  make  even  the  warfare  they  loved  a  subject  for 
moral  discrimination.  The  actions  of  the  base  knight 
became  marked  and  separated  from  those  of  the  noble 
and  gallant.  One  path  led  to  fame,  and  the  other  to 
disgrace.  Hence,  our  savage  ancestors,  who  differed 
little  from  banditti,  were  gradually  taught  to  feel  dis- 
tinction ;  from  honor,  an  intellectual  principle  ;  from 
courtesy,  a  social  merit ;  and  from  moral  sensibility, 
the  surest  source  of  human  improvement. 

This  distinction,  having  once  arisen,  could  not  fail  to 
be  permanent.  It  was  the  interest  of  the  Church  to 
preserve  and  increase  it ;  for  their  property  was  always 
at  the  mercy  of  the  depredator.  The  king  found  his 
advantage  in  maintaining  it,  because  it  softened  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


277 


turbulence  of  the  baronial  character,  and  gave  the  law 
the  protection  of  its  bravery.  The  barons  themselves 
at  last  perceived  the  superior  safety  and  comfort  which 
arose  from  the  extinction  of  the  habits  of  the  lawless 
knight.  The  fair  sex  at  all  times  found  in  honorable 
chivalry  their  most  effective  guardian  and  avenger.  It 
was,  perhaps,  their  influence  that  established  its  pre- 
dominance in  Europe.  In  their  presence,  knights  de- 
lighted to  prove  their  martial  prowess,  and  from  their 
hands  received  their  public  honors.  The  smile  of  the 
lady  he  adored,  or  professed  to  extol,  became  the  high- 
est ambhion  of  the  sturdy  warrior ;  and  her  excellence 
was  the  topic,  not  only  of  his  praise,  but  of  his  defi- 
ance. Her  service  and  her  favor  were  his  proudest 
boast.  Gradually,  in  his  festive  hours,  he  imitated  her 
dress.  Her  gentle  manners  diffused  their  magic  over 
his  own  ;  and  social  courtesy,  the  first  herald  of  the 
compassionate  virtues,  became  the  indispensable  ac- 
complishment of  the  brave  and  polished  chevalier. 

Knights  were  usually  persons  of  birth,  but  not  al- 
ways so ;  the  lower  ranks  were  sometimes  raised  to 
that  honor  for  extraordinary  valor.  They  were  quali- 
fied for  their  duty  by  laboring,  running,  carrying 
weights,  exposing  themselves  to  the  sun  and  dust,  eat- 
ing rustic  food,  living  in  the  open  air,  or  in  tents,  and 
practising  the  use  of  arms.  The  true  merit  of  a 
knight  is  thus  stated  by  a  Troubadour :  "  It  is  to  fight 
well ;  to  conduct  a  troop  well ;  to  do  his  exercise  well ; 
to  ride  his  horse  well  ;  to  present  himself  with  a  good 
grace  at  courts ;  and  to  render  himself  agreeable  there." 
He  adds  :  "  Seldom  are  all  these  qualities  united." 
This  is  very  probable.  To  unite  martial  habits  and 
VIII. — 24 


278 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


vigor  with  the  courteous  elegan  cesof  poUshed  life 
could,  not  be  often  accomplished  in  a  half  civilized 
age.  Knighthood  was  conferred  by  girding  the  person 
with  a  sword,  and  striking  him  a  blow  over  the  shoul- 
ders with  that  weapon.  In  some  countries  the  candi- 
dates confessed  themselves,  and  watched  all  the  pre- 
ceding night  in  a  church  ;  but  the  fierce  Normans 
thought  this  too  unwarlike.  The  Spanish  knight 
watched  his  armor  previous  to  the  ceremony.  After 
being  dubbed,  he  went  solemnly  to  church,  his  sword 
and  belt  were  placed  upon  the  altar,  and  prayers  were 
offered.  His  oath  declared  his  duty  to  be,  "  To  defend 
the  Church  ;  to  attack  the  perfidious  ;  to  venerate  the 
priesthood  ;  to  protect  the  poor  from  injury  ;  to  keep 
the  country  quiet ;  and  to  shed  his  blood,  and,  if  ne- 
cessary, to  lose  his  life,  for  his  brethren." 

As  they  had  their  duties,  so  they  had  their  privileges. 
They  were  free  from  taxes,  and  all  other  services  and 
burdens,  in  order,  says  the  authority,  "  that,  being  so 
alleviated,  they  may  instruct  themselves  in  the  use  of 
horses  and  arms,  and  be  apt  and  ready  for  action,  and 
the  defence  of  their  country."  But  the  great  induce- 
ments to  the  occupation  were  the  honor,  the  donations 
they  frequently  received,  and  the  plunder  they  were 
always  acquiring.  It  is  in  vain  to  suppose,  that,  before 
that  happy  era  commenced,  in  which  the  greatest  man 
was  subjected  to  the  power  of  the  law,  the  armed  force 
of  the  country  could  be  kept  in  peaceful  demeanour. 
But,  as  the  manners  of  the  age  softened,  they  attached 
themselves  to  the  fair  sex.  In  the  earlier  state  of 
chivalry,  they  had  neither  leisure  nor  taste  for  the  re- 
finements of  love.     Their  gratifications  were  then 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


279 


coarse.  War  was  their  passion,  and  their  manners 
partook  of  the  fierce  spirit  of  the  times.  Even  the 
ladies  were  fond  of  war,  and  sometimes  engaged  ia  it. 
We  read  of  one  who  was  so  skilful  in  knightly  exer- 
cises, that  she  was  styled,  in  masculine  phrase,  Le  hel 
Cavalier,  Two  Norman  ladies  quarrelled,  Eloisa 
and  Isabella.  Each  roused  her  friendly  knights  to 
espouse  her  cause,  and  plundered  and  burned  the 
other's  possessions.  They  were  both  spirited,  loqua- 
cious, and  beautiful,  and  governed  their  husbands ;  but 
they  differed  in  temper.  Eloisa  was  cunning  and  per- 
suasive, fierce  and  parsimonious.  Isabella  was  liberal 
and  courageous,  good-humored,  merry,  and  convivial. 
She  rode  among  the  knights,  armed  like  them,  and 
was  as  dexterous  as  the  rest  in  the  use  of  her  weapons. 

The  knights  travelled  with  their  squires  or  armor- 
bearers,  and  pages.  Their  state-parade  was  to  march 
with  their  shields  uncovered,  their  spears  elevated,  and 
a  banner  before  them.  If  a  knight  came  to  a  camp 
with  his  shield  on  his  neck,  and  his  lance  in  his  hand, 
it  was  deemed  an  act  of  defiance,  for  which,  if  attack- 
ed, he  had  no  redress.  The  shields  were  highly  orna- 
mented with  gold  and  brilliant  colors  ;  and  some 
knights  placed  on  them  the  portrait  of  their  favorite 
lady.  It  was  the  fashion  for  newly  made  knights  to 
travel  to  other  countries,  to  prove  their  prowess  at 
tournaments  against  foreign  knights.  Great  chieftains 
appointed  tournaments  on  purpose  that  knights  might 
come  both  to  learn  and  show  their  martial  powers. 
In  great  national  emergencies,  kings  invited  knights  to 
their  courts  by  profuse  liberality.  They  were  the  dis- 
ciplined and  effective  soldiery  of  the  day.    They  were 


280 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


the  only  portion  of  the  military  that  was  completely 
armed  ;  and  their  skill  and  power  in  the  use  of  their 
weapons  made  their  exertions  the  common  means  of 
victory. 

Knight-errantry  was  a  profession  brought  into  ex- 
istence by  the  turbulent  and  disorderly  state  of  Europe 
in  the  Middle  Ages.  At  the  close  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, that  quarter  of  the  world  exhibited  the  political 
anomaly,  of  countries  with  governments  that  were 
nominally  monarchical,  infested  by  a  host  of  petty 
sovereigns  in  every  part,  who  were  despotic  in  the  ter- 
ritories they  occupied,  and  who  acknowledged  in  the 
king  little  else  than  a  titular  superiority,  and  the  right 
of  receiving,  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  year,  their  military 
attendance.  These  petty  sovereigns  were  the  lords  or 
barons,  who  shared  the  landed  property  of  the  king- 
doms. As  they  had  originally  acquired  their  property 
by  the  sword,  they  were  obliged  to  preserve  it  by  the 
same  means.  They  were  perpetually  striving  to  dis- 
possess each  other  by  violence  ;  and  this  singular  state 
of  aristocratical  society  made  chivalry  and  knight- 
errantry  both  popular  and  necessary. 

Estates  are  now  held  by  written  muniments,  and 
their  peaceable  possession  is  guarded  and  guarantied 
by  law,  easily  enforced  by  the  whole  executive  power 
of  the  country.  But,  in  those  times,  when  they  were 
often  conferred  by  the  gift  of  a  horn  or  an  arrow,  and 
the  monarch  had  but  feeble  means  to  enforce  right,  or 
to  punish  wrong,  it  is  obvious  that  possession  was  the 
great  evidence  of  title  ;  and  he  that  had  strength  suffi- 
cient to  wrest  lands  from  another  usually  kept  his  ac- 
quisition till  superior  violence  forced  it  from  him.  In 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


281 


this  slate  of  society,  the  services  of  knights  were  every- 
where wanted  by  the  great  proprietors  of  estates,  as 
well  to  defend  their  ancient  possessions  as  to  enable 
the  more  ambitious  to  obtain  others.  Knights,  there^ 
fore,  were  perpetually  errant^  or  travelling  about  in 
quest  of  adventures  or  employment ;  some  for  the 
pleasure  of  the  expedition,  and  some  for  its  expected 
profits.  They  often  met  with  the  oppressed  or  unsuc- 
cessful, and  they  cheerfully  undertook  to  redress  those 
wrongs  which  the  laws  were  too  feeble  to  remedy ;  and 
for  redressing  which,  honor,  plunder,  or  rich  gifts  be- 
came their  usual  compensation. 

The  petty  chieftains  of  that  age  were  often  notori- 
ous robbers,  plunderers,  and  cut-throats.  Their  cas- 
tles were  so  many  dens  of  banditti.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  exaggerate  the  violent  spirit  of  those  times. 
William  Rufus  permitted  his  young  knights  and  squires 
to  amuse  themselves  by  plundering  the  estates  of  the 
country  people  with  impunity.  A  great  baron  of  that 
period  not  only  laid  all  the  churches  near  him  under 
contribution,  but  he  also  put  his  own  wife  into  prison  and 
in  fetters,  to  compel  her  to  give  up  her  property.  He 
carried  a  naked  sword  under  his  cloak,  and,  when  the 
humor  seized  him,  he  stabbed,  with  shouts  of  laughter, 
the  first  person  he  met.  His  possessions  he  daily  aug- 
mented by  the  most  infamous  robberies,  and  such  was 
his  power,  and  the  terror  he  excited,  that  this  monster 
was  admired  and  venerated.  Robert  de  Belesme  was 
a  noted  character  of  this  sort.  He  took  delight  in 
seeing  his  captives  perish  ;  he  amused  himself  with 
thrusting  out  the  eyes  of  children  with  his  thumb,  and 
impaling   men  and  women.     "  The  bishops  them- 


282 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


selves,"  says  a  contemporary  writer,  "  I  blush  to  say 
it,  yet  not  all,  but  many,  bound  in  iron  and  completely 
furnished  with  arms,  were  accustomed  to  mount  war- 
horses  with  the  annoyers  of  their  country,  to  share 
their  prey  ;  to  expose  to  bonds  and  torture  the  knights 
whom  they  took  in  the  chance  of  war,  or  whom  they 
met  full  of  money ;  and,  while  they  themselves  were 
the  head  and  cause  of  so  much  wickedness  and  enor- 
mity, they  ascribed  it  to  their  knights." 

It  is  true,  that  most  of  these  ministers  of  cruelty 
died  violently,  as  "  those  who  live  by  the  sword  must 
perish  by  the  sword."  But  while  such  habits  lasted, 
the  institution  or  practice  of  knight-errantry  was  an 
advantage  to  the  community.  Unquestionably,  many 
knights-errant  considered  the  benefit  of  an  exploit 
rather  than  its  morality  ;  but,  while  society  was  in  this 
state  of  military  chaos,  there  were  so  many  wrongs  to 
redress,  that  their  exertions  could  not  fail  to  be  often 
on  the  side  of  right.  There  were  always  tyrant  barons 
to  be  conquered,  captives  to  be  released,  ladies  to  be 
assisted,  and  the  castles  of  caitiffs,  that  defied  law,  to 
be  taken  ;  and  therefore  a  knight-errant,  with  a  mod- 
erate portion  of  true  chivalry  and  religious  feeling, 
could  easily  contrive  to  unite  his  interest  with  his  con- 
science, and  relieve,  with  profit  as  well  as  credit  to 
himself,  the  brave  and  injured.  Knight-errantry,  in 
fact,  became  a  popular  and  lucrative  profession.  Till 
the  increasing  power  of  the  kings  had  pervaded  every 
part  of  the  country,  and  compelled  the  great  to  respect 
the  voice  of  law,  and  to  feel  the  punishment  of  offend- 
ed justice,  no  class  of  people  could  be  more  valued 
and  useful  than  these  knight  adventurers.    But,  after  a 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


283 


time,  the  improvement  of  society  having  diminished 
their  utility,  the  institution  of  knight-errantry  disap- 
peared with  the  evils  which  it  had  contributed  to  re- 
move. 

In  illustration  of  the  general  spirit  and  m.anners  of 
chivalry,  as  exhibited  in  that  portion  of  Europe  most 
abounding  in  romantic  exploits,  we  present  the  follow- 
ing narrative. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  year  1434,  while  the  Span- 
ish court  was  holding  its  festivities  at  Medina  del  Cam- 
po,  a  noble  knight,  named  Sueno  de  Quinones,  presented 
himself  before  the  king,  John  the  Second,  with  a  train 
of  nine  cavaliers  gallantly  arrayed,  whose  lofty  de- 
meanour and  armorial  ensigns  showed  that  they  prided 
themselves  on  the  perfect  purity  of  their  Christian  de- 
scent. The  king  smiled  graciously  on  the  strangers, 
and,  learning  from  his  attendants  that  they  had  come  to 
court  in  order  to  solicit  his  patronage,  he  waved  his  hand 
in  sign  of  permission  for  them  to  speak.  A  herald,  whom 
they  had  brought  with  them,  stepped  in  front,  and  in 
the  name  of  Sueno  de  Quinones  spoke  thus  :  It  is 
just  and  reasonable,  that  any  one,  who  has  been  so  long 
in  imprisonment  as  I  have  been,  should  desire  his  lib- 
erty, and,  as  your  vassal  and  subject,  I  appear  before 
you  to  state  that  I  have  been  long  bound  in  service  to 
a  noble  lady  ;  and,  as  is  well  known  through  heralds,  not 
only  in  this  country,  but  through  foreign  lands,  every 
Thursday  I  am  obliged  to  wear  a  chain  of  iron  around 
my  neck.  But,  with  the  aid  of.  the  Apostle  James,  I 
have  discovered  a  means  of  liberation.  I  and  my  nine 
noble  friends  propose,  during  the  fifteen  days  that  pre- 
cede and  the  fifteen  days  that  follow  the  festival  of  that 


284 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


saint,  to  break  three  hundred  lances  with  Milan  points, 
in  the  following  manner  :  Three  lances  with  every 
knight  who  shall  pass  this  way  on  the  road  to  the 
shrine  of  the  saint.  Armor  and  weapons  will  be 
provided  in  ample  store  for  such  cavaliers  as  shall 
travel  in  palmers'  weeds.  All  noble  ladies,  who  shall 
be  on  their  pilgrimage  unattended  by  a  chivalric  es- 
cort, must  be  contented  to  lose  their  right  hand  glove, 
till  a  knight  shall  recover  it  by  the  valor  of  his  arm." 
When  the  herald  concluded,  the  king  and  his  council 
conferred  together,  and  they  soon  agreed  that  the  laws 
of  chivalry  obliged  them  to  consent  to  the  accomplish- 
ing of  this  emprise  of  arms.  When  the  royal  permis- 
sion was  proclaimed  by  the  heralds,  Sueno  got  a  noble 
knight  to  take  off  his  helmet,  and  thus  bareheaded  ap- 
proached the  throne  and  humbly  thanked  the  king. 
He  afterwards  retired  with  his  nine  friends,  and  having 
exchanged  their  heavy  armor  for  silken  dresses  of  fes- 
tivity, they  returned  to  the  hall  and  joined  the  dance. 

Six  months  were  to  elapse  before  the  valiant  and 
amorous  Sueno  de  Quinones  could  be  delivered  from 
his  shackle,  and  all  that  time  was  spent  by  him  and 
his  friends  in  exercising  themselves  to  the  use  of  the 
lance,  and  in  providing  stores  of  harness  and  lances 
for  such  knights  as  would  joust  with  them.  The  place 
that  was  arranged  for  the  contest  was  the  bridge  of 
Orbigo,  six  hours'  ride  from  Leon,  and  three  from  As- 
torga.  The  marble  efRgy  of  a  herald  was  set  up  in 
the  road,  and  by  the  label  in  its  right  hand  travellers 
were  acquainted  that  they  had  reached  the  passage  of 
arms.  The  lists  were  erected  in  a  beautiful  plain 
formed  by  nature  in  a  neighbouring  wood.    Tents  for 


MISCELLANEOCS  SKETCHES. 


285 


banqueting  and  repose  were  raised  and  amply  furnish- 
ed by  the  liberaUty  of  Sueno.  One  tent  was  admirable 
for  the  beauty  of  its  decorations,  and  more  so  for  its 
purpose.  It  contained  seven  noble  ladies,  who,  at  the 
request  of  the  mother  of  Sueno,  devoted  themselves  to 
attend  such  of  the  knights  as  should  be  wounded  in 
the  joust.  At  the  time  appointed,  Sueno  de  Quinones 
appeared  in  the  lists  with  his  nine  companions,  all 
arrayed  m  the  most  splendid  tourneying  harness,  the 
enamored  knight  himself  having  about  his  neck  the 
chain  of  his  mistress,  with  the  motto,  which  his  friends 
also  wore  on  some  part  of  their  armor,  '  II  faut  de- 
Uberer.''  Many'stranger  knights  jousted  with  him,  and 
his  success  was  generally  distinguished. 

The  fair  penitents  to  the  shrine  of  the  saint  were 
stopped,  and  such  as  were  of  noble  birth  were  asked 
by  the  king's  herald  to  deliver  their  gloves.  The  pride 
and  prerogatives  of  the  sex  were  offended  at  this  de- 
mand ;  the  ladies  resisted,  as  much  as  words  and  looks 
of  high  disdain  could  resist,  the  representative  of  the 
king ;  but  they  yielded  with  grace  and  pleasure,  when 
they  were  asked  to  surrender  their  gloves  in  the  name 
of  the  laws  of  chivalry,  of  those  laws  which  had  been 
made  under  their  auspices  and  for  their  benefit.  There 
was  no  lack  of  knights  to  peril  themselves  for  the 
recovery  of  these  gloves  in  the  listed  plain  ;  and,  if  the 
champions  of  the  dames  were  ever  worsted  by  the 
hardier  sons  of  chivalry,  the  gallantry  of  the  judges  of 
the  tournament  would  not  permit  the  ladies  to  suffer 
from  any  want  of  skill  or  good  fortune  in  their  chosen 
knights.  When  the  thirty  days  had  expired,  it  appear-' 
ed  that  sixty-eight  knights  had  entered  the  lists  against 


286 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


Sueno  de  Quinones,  and  in  seven  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  encounters  only  sixty-six  lances  had  been  bro- 
ken, —  a  chivah'ic  phrase,  expressive  either  of  the 
actual  shivering  of  lances,  or  of  men  being  thrown 
out  of  their  saddles.  The  judges  of  the  tournament, 
however,  declared  that  although  the  number  of  the 
lances  broken  was  not  equal  to  the  undertaking,  yet 
as  such  a  partial  performance  of  the  conditions  of 
the  passage  of  arms  had  not  been  the  fault  of  Sueno 
de  Quinones,  they  commanded  the  king-at-arms  to 
lake  the  chain  from  his  neck,  and  to  declare  that  the 
emprise  had  been  achieved.  Accordingly  the  chain 
was  removed,  and  the  delivered  knight  entered  Leon 
in  triumph. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 

THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 


287 


In  the  history  of  mankind  every  thing  is  gradual. 
Society  does  not  receive  a  new  form  m  a  day.  The 
ideas  cast  abroad  in  one  century  become  the  leading 
principles  of  the  next ;  and  a  revolution,  however  sud- 
den it  may  appear,  is  but  the  explosion  of  a  train  that 
has  been  long  and  curiously  laid.  We  shall  endeav- 
our, in  a  brief  sketch,  to  exhibit  the  progressive  steps 
by  which  the  political  and  social  institutions  of  the 
Middle  Ages  in  Europe  were  developed  and  estab- 
lished. 


28S 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


When  the  fierce  and  barbarous  nations  of  the  North 
poured  down  upon  the  E-oman  empire,  and  began  to 
form  permanent  settlements,  they  made  a  partition  of 
the  lands  in  the  conquered  provinces  between  them- 
selves and  the  original  possessors.  The  Burgundians 
and  Visigoths  took  two  thirds  of  their  respective  con- 
quests, leaving  the  remainder  to  the  Roman  proprie- 
tors. The  Vandals  in  Africa,  a  more  furious  race  of 
plunderers,  took  all  the  best  lands.  The  Lombards  of 
Italy  took  a  third  part  of  the  produce.  The  Franks  in 
Gaul  took  the  greater  portion  of  the  territory,  and  im- 
posed their  name  upon  the  kingdom.  It  is  here  that 
we  trace  most  distinctly  the  rise  and  extension  of  the 
feudal  system.  Clovis,  the  Prankish  conqueror,  was 
a  leader  of  barbarians,  who  respected  his  valor  and  the 
rank  which  they  had  given  him,  but  were  incapable 
of  servile  feelings,  and  jealous  of  their  common,  as 
well  as  individual  rights.  In  order  to  appreciate  the 
extent  of  his  power,  we  have  only  to  refer  to  the  story 
of  the  Vase  of  Soissons.  When  the  plunder  taken  in 
the  invasion  of  Gaul  was  collected  in  that  city  for  dis- 
tribution, he  begged  for  himself  a  precious  vessel  be- 
longing to  the  church  of  Rheims.  The  army  express- 
ed a  willingness  to  consent.  "  You  shall  have  nothing 
here,"  exclaimed  a  soldier,  striking  the  vase  with  his 
battle-axe,  but  what  falls  to  your  share  by  lot."  The 
king  dared  not  express  his  resentment  at  the  time,  but 
took  his  revenge  a  year  afterward. 

The  kingdom  of  Clovis  was  divided  into  a  number 
of  districts,  each  under  the  government  of  a  Count. 
The  authority  of  this  officer  extended  over  all  the  in- 
habitants, as  well  Franks  as  natives.    It  was  his  duty 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


289 


to  administer  justice,  to  preserve  tranquillity,  to  collect 
the  revenues,  and  to  lead,  when  required,  the  free  pro- 
prietors into  the  field.  The  title  of  Duke  implied  a 
higher  dignity,  and  commonly  gave  authority  over 
several  counties.  The  reigning  family  was  immutable  ; 
but,  at  every  vacancy,  the  heir  awaited  the  confirma- 
tion of  the  people,  whether  that  were  a  substantial 
privilege  or  a  mere  ceremony.  The  barbarous  con- 
querors of  Gaul  and  Italy  were  guided  by  notions  very 
different  from  those  of  Rome,  who  had  imposed  her 
own  laws  upon  all  the  subjects  of  her  empire.  Ad- 
hering in  general  to  their  ancient  customs,  without  de- 
sire of  improvement,  they  left  the  former  inhabitants 
in  unmolested  enjoyment  of  their  civil  institutions. 
The  name  of  Gaul  or  Roman  was  not  entirely  lost  in 
that  of  Frenchman,  nor  had  the  separation  of  the  laws 
ceased  till  after  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  In  the 
South  of  France  the  Roman  jurisprudence  survived  the 
revolutions  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  essential  distinction  of  ranks  in  France  was 
founded  upon  the  possession  of  land  or  upon  civil  em 
ployment.  The  aristocracy  of  wealth  preceded  that  of 
birth,  which,  indeed,  is  still  chiefly  dependent  upon  the 
other  for  its  importance.  A  Frank  of  large  estate  was 
styled  a  Noble.  If  he  wasted  or  was  despoiled  of  his 
wealth,  his  descendants  fell  into  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  new  possessor  became  noble  in  his  stead. 
In  those  ages,  property  did  not  very  frequently  change 
hands  and  desert  the  families  who  had  long  possessed 
it.  Wealth  gave  them  power,  and  power  gave  them 
preeminence. 

19         VIII. — 25 


290 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


The  essential  principle  of  a  feudal  tenure  was  a 
mutual  contract  of  support  and  fidelity.  Whatever 
obligations  of  service  to  his  lord  were  laid  upon  the 
vassal,  corresponding  duties  of  protection  were  impos- 
ed on  the  lord  toward  his  vassal.  If  these  were  trans- 
gressed on  either  side,  the  one  forfeited  his  land,  and 
the  other  his  seigniory,  or  the  right  over  it.  The  vassal 
was  bound  to  serve  his  lord  in  war ;  in  battle  he  was 
to  lend  him  his  horse  when  dismounted,  to  adhere  to 
his  side  while  fighting,  and  to  go  into  captivity  as  a 
hostage  for  him  when  taken.  Forty  days  was  the 
usual  term  during  which  the  tenant  of  a  knight's  fee 
was  bound  to  be  in  the  field  at  his  own  expense. 

Every  lord,  in  those  days,  having  independent  juris- 
diction, and  his  own  vassals  immediately  devoted  to 
him,  was  in  fact  a  petty  sovereign,  and  a  few  of  these 
in  a  country  were  generally  an  overmatch  for  the 
king,  and  often  occasioned  the  greatest  disorders. 
Hardly  ever  has  there  been  a  government  in  which 
there  was  less  provision  for  the  security  and  happiness 
of  the  bulk  of  the  people  than  in  the  feudal  govern- 
ment. Had  not  religion,  or  rather  superstition,  pro- 
vided an  asylum  to  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  those 
times,  in  which  this  system  was  at  its  height,  would 
have  constituted  a  period  of  utter  anarchy.  Thefts, 
rapine,  murders,  and  disorders  prevailed  in  every  king- 
dom of  Europe  to  a  degree  almost  incredible  and 
scarcely  compatible  with  the  existence  of  civil  society. 
Every  offender  sheltered  himself  under  some  chieftain 
who  shielded  him  from  justice.  Some  of  this  portion 
of  the  feudal  spirit  seems  to  have  lingered  in  England 
as  late  as  the  time  of  Shakspeare. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


291 


"  Davy.  I  grant  your  Worship  that  he  is  a  knave,  Sir ;  but 
yet  God  forbid,  Sir,  but  a  knave  should  have  some  countenance 
at  his  friend's  request.  I  have  served  your  Worship  truly,  Sir, 
this  eight  years ;  and  if  I  cannot,  once  or  twice  in  a  quarter, 
bear  out  a  knave  against  an  honest  man,  I  have  but  a  very  little 
credit  with  your  Worship.  The  knave  is  mine  honest  friend, 
Sir ;  therefore,  I  beseech  your  Worship,  let  him  be  counte- 
nanced. 

"  Shallow.    Go  to.    I  say  he  shall  have  no  wrong.'* 

The  two  grand  elements  which  operated  on  society 
from  the  establishment  of  the  barbarous  invaders  in  Ro- 
man Gaul,  and  which  maintained  a  constant  struggle 
for  predominance  over  the  opinions  of  men  from  the 
seventh  to  the  tenth  century,  were  the  physical  force 
of  the  conquerors,  and  the  moral  and  intellectual  force 
of  the  clergy.  The  annals  of  the  Merovingians  and 
the  Carlovingians  are  filled  with  the  quarrels  and  mu- 
tual encroachments  of  the  warriors  and  the  ecclesias- 
tics. The  one  party  seized  the  lands  or  the  treasures 
of  cathedrals  and  monasteries,  and  the  other  took  re- 
venge by  interdicts  and  excommunications  ;  but  about 
the  tenth  century  the  triumph  of  the  Church  may  be 
considered  complete.  Its  advantages  over  its  rival, 
from  the  beginning,  were  obvious.  It  was  a  regular  in- 
stitution, and  possessed  a  formal  hierarchy,  consecrated 
forms,  a  written  code,  and  invariable  maxims.  It  pur- 
sued a  definite  object  with  order  and  perseverance. 
The  armed  feudality,  on  the  other  hand,  was  but  a 
confused  mass  of  isolated  forces,  a  government  with- 
out a  common  object.  What  it  gained  by  violence  it 
lost  by  want  of  system. 

Nearly  half  the  territory  of  Roman  Gaul  belonged 
to  the  monasteries  and  cathedrals  ;  in  addition  to  which, 


292 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


they  reaped  the  tenth  of  the  productions  of  the  other 
half.  Besides  the  influence  of  riches,  the  clergy  pos- 
sessed the  influence  of  superior  intelHgence.  The 
little  knowledge  current  was  confined  to  them.  They 
alone  could  read  and  write.  They  were  necessary  in 
every  castle.  From  the  suzerain  to  the  lowest  vassal, 
all  had  their  chaplain  to  draw  up  their  deeds,  to  recite 
the  breviary,  or  enliven  the  long  nights  of  winter  with 
some  tale  of  chivalry.  The  Christian  faith  of  the  Middle 
Ages  may  be  considered  as  a  vast  Polytheism  ;  eleven 
thousand  saints  were  habitually  invoked  by  the  people. 
Before  we  arrive  at  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century, 
we  find  that  the  Church  had  become  the  unique  source 
of  all  social  existence.  Every  thing  flowed  from  it ; 
the  moral  and  intellectual  order  of  men's  ideas  was 
founded  on  its  doctrines  ;  and  nothing  existed  out  of  its 
pale,  but  brutal  and  unorganized  force.  At  this  period, 
Europe  may  be  considered  a  great  religious  federative 
republic,  governed  by  a  clerical  aristocracy,  with  the 
Pope  for  a  President. 

But  the  Church  itself  was  destined  to  undergo  its 
revolution.  The  Popes  iirst  set  up  their  pretensions  as 
spiritual  monarchs  ;  the  Church  then  lost  its  republican 
form  of  government  by  councils,  and  assumed  an 
aspect  altogether  monarchical.  As  letters  began  to 
revive,  a  source  of  instruction  was  opened  to  the  peo- 
ple, which  did  not  flow  from  the  Church,  and  its  au- 
thority thus  received  a  blow  from  which  it  never  recov- 
ered. When  the  clergy  ceased  to  hold  despotic  sway 
over  the  minds  of  men,  the  feudal  institutions  remain- 
ed, though  greatly  changed  and  mutilated.  Another 
form  of  government  arose.    The  people  collected  in 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


293 


towns,  and  began  to  be  sensible  of  their  force,  and  to 
vindicate  their  rights.  Scattered  abroad  in  the  fields, 
or  collected  in  small  hamlets,  the  serfs  were  the  slaves 
of  their  masters'  will ;  but  when  once  they  had  gather- 
ed together  in  large  bodies,  and  had  learned  to  sym- 
pathize with  each  other,  and  to  act  in  concert,  they 
disdained  the  authority  of  their  lords. 

The  Middle  Ages,  although  they  constitute  a  period 
of  war,  violence,  and  destitution  of  letters,  have  been, 
in  general,  spoken  of  in  terms  of  too  great  disparage- 
ment. We  owe  much  to  what  have  been  termed  the 
Dark  Ages.  The  human  mind  was  very  far  from 
being  alike  inactive  in  all  the  portions  of  this  long 
period.  During  the  darkest  part  of  it,  which  extends 
from  the  fall  of  the  Western  Empire  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  Arabic  numerals 
were  introduced  into  Europe,  paper  was  manufac- 
tured from  linen,  gunpowder  and  the  mariner's  com- 
pass were  discovered.  Before  the  end  of  this  century, 
oil-painting,  printing,  engraving,  and  Gothic  architec- 
ture closed  this  series  of  improvements.  These  inven- 
tions were  proofs  of  mental  activity,  as  well  as  incite- 
ments to  it ;  and  it  may  even  be  doubted  whether  the 
human  mind  could  have  rendered  a  greater  service  to 
the  science  of  the  succeeding  age,  than  in  thus  preparing 
the  soil  which  it  was  to  cultivate,  and  constructing  new 
instruments  for  its  use.  The  government,  laws,  and 
manners  of  the  Middle  Ages  have  lately  been  studied 
whh  a  diligence  due  to  the  investigation  of  the  sources 
whence  has  proceeded  the  diversity  of  institutions' 
and  national  character  which  still  prevails  in  Europe. 
The  literature  of  the  same  period  has  recently  almost 
25* 


294 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


everywhere  inspired  a  general  curiosity  and  interest ; 
and  most  nations  have  returned  with  renewed  afTection 
lo  the  earliest  monuments  of  the  genius  of  their  fore- 
fathers. 

The  favorite  diversions  of  the  higher  classes  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  during  the  intervals  of  war,  were  those 
of  hunting  and  hawking.  The  former  must,  in  all 
countries,  be  a  source  of  pleasure,  but  it  seems  to  have 
been  enjoyed  in  moderation  by  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans. With  the  Northern  invaders,  however,  it  was 
rather  a  predominant  appetite  than  an  amusement.  It 
was  their  pride  and  their  ornament,  the  theme  of  their 
songs,  the  object  of  their  laws,  and  the  business  of 
their  lives.  Falconry,  unknown,  as  a  diversion,  to  the 
ancients,  became,  from  the  fourth  century,  an  equally 
delightful  occupation.  A  knight  seldom  stirred  from 
his  house  without  a  falcon  on  his  Wiist,  or  a  greyhound 
following  him  ;  and  on  the  monuments  of  those  who 
died  anywhere  but  on  the  field  of  battle,  it  is  usual  to 
find  the  greyhound  lying  at  their  feet,  or  the  bird  upon 
their  wrists.  Nor  are  the  tombs  of  ladies  without 
their  falcon ;  for  this  diversion,  being  of  less  danger 
and  fatigue  than  the  chase,  was  shared  by  the  delicate 
sex. 

About  the  eighth  century,  trade  was  principally  car- 
ried on  by  means  of  fairs,  which  lasted  several  days. 
Charlemagne  established  many  great  marts  of  this  sort 
in  France,  as  did  William  the  Conqueror  and  his  suc- 
cessors in  England.  The  merchants,  who  frequented 
these  fairs  in  numerous  caravans  or  companies,  em- 
ployed every  art  to  draw  the  people  together.  They 
were  therefore  accompanied  by  jugglers,  minstrels, 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


295 


and  buffoons.  As  but  few  large  towns  then  existed, 
no  public  spectacles  or  popular  amusements  were  es- 
tablished ;  and,  as  the  sedentary  pleasures  of  domestic 
life  and  private  society  were  yet  unknown,  the  fair- 
time  was  the  season  for  diversion.  In  proportion  as 
these  shows  were  attended  and  encouraged,  they  were 
heightened  with  new  decorations  and  improvements  ; 
and  the  arts  of  buffoonery,  being  rendered  still  more 
attractive  by  extending  their  circle  of  exhibition,  ac- 
quired an  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  By 
degrees,  the  clergy,  observing  that  the  entertainments 
of  dancing,  music,  and  mimicry  at  the  fairs  turned 
the  minds  of  the  people  from  religion,  proscribed  these 
sports,  and  excommunicated  the  performers.  But, 
finding  that  no  regard  was  paid  to  their  censures,  they 
changed  their  plan,  and  took  these  recreations  into 
their  own  hands.  They  turned  actors,  and,  instead  of 
profane  mummeries,  presented  stories  taken  from  holy 
legends,  or  the  Bible.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the 
Religious  Shows  and  Mysteries  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
the  most  singular  amusements,  perhaps,  that  ever  were 
known,  and  which  merit  a  detailed  description,  in  order 
to  exhibit  a  faithful  picture  of  the  manners  of  the 
times. 

In  these  most  extraordinary  performances,  the  re- 
ligious ceremonies  of  the  time  and  the  events  of 
sacred  history  were  travestied  in  so  bizarre  a  style, 
that  we  could  hardly  credit  the  facts,  were  they  not  re- 
lated in  the  most  circumstantial  detail  by  numerous 
writers.  About  the  year  990,  Theophylact,  Patri- 
arch of  Constantinople,  caused  the  Feast  of  Fools^ 
and  the  Feast  of  the  Ass^  with  other  religious  farces, 


296 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


to  be  exhibited  in  the  Greek  Church.  Boletus,  who 
lived  in  1 182,  mentions  the  Feast  of  Fools  as  celebrat- 
ed in  some  places  on  New  Year's  day,  and  in  others, 
on  Twelfth  day.  In  France,  at  different  cathedral 
churches,  there  was  a  Bishop  or  an  Archbishop  of 
Fools  elected  ;  and,  in  the  churches  immediately  de- 
pendent on  the  papal  see,  a  Pope  of  Fools.  These 
mock  pontiffs  had  usually  a  proper  train  of  ecclesias- 
tics, and  one  of  their  ridiculous  ceremonies  was  to 
shave  the  Precentor  of  Fools  upon  a  stage  erected 
before  the  church,  in  the  presence  of  the  populace, 
who  were  amused,  during  the  operation,  by  his  coarse 
and  licentious  discourses,  and  tricks  of  buffoonery. 
They  were  attired  in  the  ridiculous  dresses  of  panto- 
mime players,  and,  in  these  grotesque  habiliments, 
entered  the  church,  and  performed  the  sacred  service, 
accompanied  by  crowds  of  people  in  masks,  represent- 
ing monsters,  or  with  their  faces  smutted  to  excite 
laughter.  During  divine  service,  they  sang  vulgar 
songs  in  the  choir,  ate  puddings  on  the  corner  of  the 
altar,  played  at  dice  upon  it  by  the  side  of  the  priest 
while  he  celebrated  mass,  incensed  it  with  smoke  from 
old  shoes  set  on  fire,  and  ran  capering  all  over  the 
church.  The  Bishop  or  Pope  of  Fools  performed 
the  service  habited  in  pontifical  garments,  and  gave 
his  benediction.  When  it  was  concluded,  he  was  seat- 
ed in  an  open  carriage,  and  drawn  about  the  town,  fol- 
lowed by  the  crowd,  and  by  a  cart  filled  with  dirt,  which 
they  threw  upon  the  spectators,  to  the  great  glee  of  all 
concerned.  These  licentious  festivals  were  called  the 
December  Liberties,  They  were  always  held  about 
Christmas,  and  appear  to  have  continued  through  the 
chief  part  of  January. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


297 


The  Feast  of  the  Ass^  as  it  was  anciently  celebrated 
in  France,  consisted  almost  entirely  of  dramatic  shows. 
It  was  mstituted  in  honor  of  Balaam's  ass.  The  cler- 
gy walked  on  Christmas  day  in  procession,  dressed  to 
represent  the  prophets  and  other  Scripture  characters. 
Moses  appeared  in  an  alb  and  cope,  with  a  long  beard 
and  a  rod.  David  was  clad  in  green.  Balaam,  with  an 
enormous  pair  of  spurs,  was  mounted  on  a  wooden  ass, 
which  enclosed  a  speaker.  There  were  also  six  Jews 
and  six  Gentiles.  Among  other  characters,  the  poet 
Virgil  was  introduced,  singing  monkish  rhymes,  as  a 
Gentile  prophet,  and  a  translator  of  the  Sibylline  ora- 
cles. They  moved  in  procession  through  the  church, 
chanting  versicles,  and  conversing  in  character  on  the 
nativity  and  kingdom  of  Christ.  Sometimes  they  per- 
formed the  miracle  of  the  fiery  furnace,  with  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego.  Some- 
times the  Feast  of  the  Ass  commemorated  the  flight 
of  the  Virgin  into  Egypt  with  the  infant  Jesus.  The 
most  beautiful  girl  that  could  be  procured  was  selected 
to  represent  the  Virgin  ;  a  pretty  child  was  placed  in 
her  arms,  and  she  was  mounted  on  an  ass  richly  ca- 
parisoned. The  Bishop,  with  a  train  of  clergy,  follow- 
ed, and  they  all  went  in  grand  procession  to  church, 
where  the  service  was  performed,  with  the  burden  of 
"  Hin-han  !  Hin-han  !  "  to  represent  the  braying  of 
an  ass.  The  Archbishop  of  Sens  composed  a  missal 
for  this  ceremony,  containing,  among  other  strange 
things,  a  hymn  in  praise  of  the  ass,  from  which  we 
extract  the  two  following  verses. 

"  From  the  country  of  the  East 
Came  this  strong  and  handsome  beast, 


298 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


This  able  Ass,  beyond  compare, 
Heavy  loads  and  packs  to  bear. 

Huzza  !  Seigneur  Ass,  Huzza! 

"  Amen  bray,  most  honored  Ass, 
Sated  now  with  grain  and  grass  j 
Amen  repeat,  Amen  reply, 
And  disregard  antiquity. 

Huzza  !  Seigneur  Ass,  Huzza  !  " 

This  was  sung  in  the  most  discordant  manner  possi- 
ble. The  service  lasted  all  night  and  part  of  the  next 
day,  and  constituted  the  most  ridiculous  medley  imagi- 
nable. A  liberal  use  of  wine  was  not  wanting  on  the 
occasion,  and  both  clergy  and  laity  danced  round  the 
animal,  and  strove  to  imitate  his  braying. 

The  Mysteries,  or  sacred  plays,  were  acted  on  a 
stage  consisting  of  three  platforms,  one  above  another. 
On  the  uppermost  sat  God  the  Father,  surrounded  by 
his  angels.  On  the  second  story  were  the  glorified 
saints  ;  and  on  the  lowest,  men  who  had  not  yet  passed 
from  this  life.  On  one  side  of  the  lowest  platform 
was  the  resemblance  of  a  dark,  pitchy  cavern,  whence 
issued  flames ;  and  when  it  was  necessary,  the  audi- 
ence were  treated  with  hideous  yellings  and  noises, 
in  imitation  of  the  cries  of  the  damned.  From  this 
yawning  cave  the  devils  ascended,  to  delight  and  edify 
the  spectators.  The  Mysteries  were  usually  acted  in 
churches  or  chapels,  on  temporary  scaffolds,  and  the 
performers  were  chiefly  of  the  clergy.  In  the  Coven- 
try Mysteries,  the  story  of  Adam  and  Eve  was  repre- 
sented in  the  genuine  natural  costume,  and  this  extra- 
ordinary spectacle  was  beheld  by  a  numerous  company 
of  both  sexes  with  perfect  composure.    They  had  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


299 


authority  of  Scripture  for  such  a  representation,  and 
they  gave  matters  just  as  they  found  them  in  the  third 
chapter  of  Genesis.  The  present  age  rejects,  as  mon- 
strously gross  and  indelicate,  those  free  compositions 
which  our  ancestors  not  only  countenanced  but  admir- 
ed ;  yet  the  morals  of  that  age  were  as  strict,  to  say 
the  least,  as  our  own.  Those  people  were  strangers, 
indeed,  to  delicacy  of  taste  ;  they  beheld  the  broad 
and  faithful  delineations  of  nature,  and  thought  no 
harm.  The  present  age  has  gained  in  refinement  of 
manners  and  external  decorum,  but  has  probably  lost 
as  much  in  real  purity  of  morals. 

It  remains  to  add  a  few  words  respecting  the  modes 
of  dress  and  architecture  during  the  Middle  Ages. 
Much  diversity  existed  in  these  matters,  in  the  different 
countries  of  Europe.  Italy  and  Provence  made  the 
first  rapid  transition  from  simplicity  to  refinement.  As 
early  as  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  lux- 
ury had  made  great  progress.  Previous  to  this  time, 
the  manners  of  the  Italians  were  rude.  A  man  and 
his  wife  ate  from  the  same  plate.  There  were  no 
wooden-handled  knives,  nor  more  than  one  or  two 
drinking-cups,  in  a  house.  Candles  of  wax  or  tallow 
were  unknown,  and  a  servant  held  a  torch  during  sup- 
per. The  clothes  of  men  were  of  leather,  unlincd  ; 
scarcely  any  ornament  was  seen  on  their  dress.  The 
common  pride  of  men  was,  to  be  well  provided  with 
arms  and  horses  ;  that  of  the  nobility,  to  have  lofty 
towers,  of  which  all  the  cities  in  Italy  were  full.  The 
conquest  of  Naples,  by  Charles  of  Anjou,  in  1266, 
seems  to  have  been  the  epoch  of  increasing  luxury 
throughout  Italy.    His  Provencal  knights,  with  their 


300 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


plumed  helmets  and  golden  collars,  the  chariot  cf  his 
queen,  covered  with  blue  velvet  and  sprinkled  with 
lilies  of  gold,  astonished  the  citizens  of  Naples.  Pro- 
vence had  enjoyed  a  long  tranquillity,  the  natural 
source  of  luxurious  magnificence  ;  and  Italy,  now  liber- 
ated from  the  yoke  of  the  German  emperors,  soon 
reaped  the  same  fruit  of  a  condition  more  easy  and 
peaceful  than  had  been  her  lot  for  several  ages. 

In  England,  great  rudeness  in  manners  and  dress 
prevailed  before  the  Norman  Conquest ;  but  that  revo- 
lution introduced,  by  degrees,  the  improvements  and 
luxuries  of  the  Continent.  An  English  beau  of  the 
fourteenth  century  wore  enormously  long  pointed 
shoes,  with  gold  chains  from  the  points  fastened  up  to 
his  knees  ;  hose  of  one  color  on  one  leg,  and  of  a  dif- 
ferent color  on  the  other  ;  short  inexpressibles  reaching 
but  half  way  down  to  the  knees  ;  a  coat  one  half  white, 
and  the  other  half  black  or  blue  ;  a  long  beard  ;  a  silk 
hood  buttoned  under  his  chin,  embroidered  with  gro- 
tesque figures  of  animals,  dancing  men,  &c.  Similar 
dresses  were  also  worn  in  France  and  Italy.  The 
pointed  shoe  continued  in  use  till  a  very  late  period, 
and  at  one  time  it  was  fashionable  to  shape  the  upper 
parts  into  the  form  of  a  church  window.  Chaucer's 
spruce  parish  clerk  had 

"  Poules  windowes  corven  on  his  shoos." 

In  spite  of  the  bulls  of  popes,  the  decrees  of  councils, 
and  the  declamations  of  the  clergy,  all  which  were  put 
in  requisition  to  condemn  this  absurd  fashion,  it  lasted 
for  three  centuries. 

It  is  to  the  Middle  Ages  that  we  are  indebted  for 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


301 


some  of  the  most  imposing  specimens  of  architecture 
now  existing  in  Europe  ;  the  cathedrals  and  the  cas- 
tles ;  yet  domestic  architecture  made  but  a  slow  pro- 
gress. The  houses  of  the  common  people  in  England 
are  described  as  "  mere  sticks  and  dirt,"  as  late  as  the 
sixteenth  century.  Even  in  Italy,  where,  from  the  size 
of  the  cities,  and  the  social  refinement  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, greater  elegance  and  splendor  in  buildings  were 
justly  to  be  expected,  the  domestic  architecture  of  the 
Middle  Ages  did  not  attam  any  perfection.  In  many 
towns  the  houses  were  covered  with  thatch,  and  suf- 
fered, consequently,  from  destructive  fires.  We  may 
guess  from  this,  how  mean  were  the  habitations  in  less 
polished  parts  of  Europe.  The  two  most  essential 
improvements  in  architecture  during  this  period,  one 
of  which  had  been  missed  by  the  sagacity  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  were  chimneys  and  glass  windows.  Noth- 
ing, apparently,  can  be  more  simple  than  a  chimney, 
yet  the  wisdom  of  ancient  times  had  been  content  to 
let  the  smoke  escape  by  an  aperture  in  the  centre  of 
the  roof ;  and  a  discovery,  of  which  Vitruvius  had  not 
even  a  glimpse,  was  made  by  some  forgotten  semi- 
barbarian.  The  first  mention  of  chimneys  is  about 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  they  were 
known  in  Italy  and  England.  In  France  they  did  not 
come  into  common  use  till  three  hundred  years  later. 
Glass  was  probably  not  employed  in  domestic  archi- 
tecture in  France  and  England  before  the  fourteenth 
century ;  nor  were  glazed  windows  in  general  use 
during  any  part  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  Middle  Ages  are  commonly  regarded  as  com- 
prising about  one  thousand  years,  from  the  invasion  of 
viii.~26 


302 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


France  by  Clovis,  to  the  irruption  of  the  French  under 
Charles  the  Eighth  into  Italy,  at  the  close  of  the  fif- 
teenth century.  This  period,  considered  as  to  the  state 
of  society,  has  been  esteemed  dark  through  ignorance, 
and  barbarous  from  poverty  and  want  of  refinement. 
And,  although  this  character  is  much  less  applicable  to 
the  last  two  centuries  of  the  period  than  to  those  which 
preceded  its  commencement,  yet  we  cannot  expect  to 
feel,  with  regard  to  ages,  at  best  but  imperfectly  civil- 
ized, and  slowly  progressive,  that  interest  which  attends 
a  more  perfect  development  of  human  capacities,  and 
more  brilliant  advances  in  improvement.  The  first 
moiety,  indeed,  of  these  ten  centuries,  is  almost  abso- 
lutely barren,  and  presents  little  but  a  catalogue  of  evils. 
The  subversion  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  the  devas- 
tation of  its  provinces  by  barbarous  nations,  either  im- 
mediately preceded,  or  were  coincident  with,  the  com- 
mencement of  the  middle  period.  We  begin  in  dark- 
ness and  calamity,  and  though  the  shadows  become 
fainter  as  we  advance,  yet  we  break  off  our  pursuit  as 
the  mornmg  breathes  upon  us,  and  the  twilight  reddens 
into  the  lustre  of  day. 


FALL  OF  THE  GREEK  EMPIRE. 

The  last  great  event  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  the 
extinction  of  the  Eastern  Empire  by  the  capture  of 
Constantinople.  That  event  seems  to  have  been  provi- 
dentially delayed  till  Italy  was  ripe  to  nourish  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


303 


scattered  seeds  of  literature,  that  would  have  perished  a 
few  ages  earlier  in  the  common  catastrophe.  From 
the  commencement  of  the  fifteenth  century,  even  the 
national  pride  of  Greece  could  not  blind  her  to  the 
signs  of  approaching  ruin.  From  the  time  that 
Michael  Palseologus  drove  the  Latins  out  of  Constan- 
tinople, in  1261,  the  empire,  which  had  been  reduced 
to  a  state  of  debility  before  the  crusades,  being  equally 
exposed  to  the  depredations  of  the  Christians  and  the 
Turks,  preserved  only  a  high-sounding  name,  while  it 
tottered  on  the  brink  of  destruction.  The  monastic 
spirit  seemed  to  quench  the  last  glimmering  rays  of 
common  sense.  Narrow,  superstitious  ideas  directed 
the  measures  of  government,  while  they  did  not  check 
the  course  of  heinous  crimes.  Andronicus,  the  son 
of  Palseologus,  suffered  himself  to  be  persuaded  that 
the  Greek  empire  was  under  the  peculiar  protection  of 
Heaven,  and,  therefore,  a  fleet  was  unnecessary  for  its 
defence.  For  this  reason,  the  country  was  first  rav- 
aged by  pirates,  and  then  overrun  by  the  Turks.  In 
the  fourteenth  century,  they  crossed  the  straits  into 
Europe,  took  Adrianople,  and  spread  universal  terror. 

The  Sultan  Amurath,  who  achieved  this  conquest, 
established  the  janizaries  on  the  same  footing  as  that 
on  which  they  existed  down  to  the  present  century. 
His  son  Bajazet,  surnamed  Ilderim,  the  Thunderer,  was 
still  more  formidable.  Conquerors  seldom  degenerate, 
till  they  reap  in  peace  the  delicious  fruits  of  their  con- 
quests. The  whole  Greek  empire  was  reduced  to 
little  more  than  the  precincts  of  Constantinople,  yet 
discord  prevailed  in  it.  The  Genoese  fomented  these 
dissensions,  and,  by  means  of  their  fleet,  were  become 


304 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


masters  of  the  trade,  and  even  of  part  of  the  city. 
The  Emperor  Andronicus  undertook  to  fortify  Con- 
stantinople, but  Bajazet  sent  him  orders  to  demolish  his 
works,  and  was  obeyed,  —  a  presage  of  unavoidable 
and  speedy  ruin.  The  Christian  princes  were  alarmed 
by  the  progress  of  the  Turks ;  but  it  was  no  longer 
possible  to  inspire  the  European  republics,  distracted 
by  wars,  and  restrained  by  calculating  policy,  with  the 
generous  fanaticism  of  the  crusades ;  and  at  the  Council 
of  Florence,  in  1439,  the  court  and  church  of  Con- 
stantinople had  the  mortification  of  sacrificing  their 
long  cherished  faith,  without  experiencing  any  sensible 
return  of  protection  or  security.  Their  city  was  be- 
sieged by  the  Turks,  and  the  Emperor  Manuel  Paloeolo- 
gus  purchased  a  show  of  peace  by  an  annual  tribute 
of  ten  thousand  pieces  of  gold,  and  a  permission  for 
the  Turks  to  build  a  mosque  and  establish  a  cadi  to 
administer  justice,  for  the  benefit  of  such  of  their  na- 
tion as  resided  in  Constantinople. 

Mahomet  the  Second,  by  whose  arms  the  last  fatal 
blow  was  struck  at  the  Greek  empire,  has  been  painted 
in  different  colors  by  his  panegyrists  and  his  enemies. 
He  was  unjust  and  cruel,  like  most  conquerors,  but  he 
showed  an  elevation  of  soul  and  a  degree  of  intellect 
which  made  some  amends  for  these  vices.  He  was  a 
scholar,  yet  not  redeemed  from  barbarism.  With 
some  taste  for  the  liberal  arts,  or,  at  least,  some  sense 
of  the  value  of  their  productions,  he  entertained  a 
general  contempt  for  their  professors.  He  was  a  war- 
rior and  a  politician  in  the  most  extensive  meaning  of 
the  words,  and  as  such  he  was  truly  great.  His  early 
life  was  marked  by  two  instances  of  uncommon  mod- 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


805 


eration,  in  suffering  his  father  to  leave  his  retirement 
and  again  ascend  the  throne.  Whether  we  consider 
the  conception  or  the  execution  of  his  enterprises,  we 
shall  find  equal  cause  to  admire  the  extent  of  his  un- 
derstanding and  the  vigor  of  his  spirit.  At  the  head  of 
a  powerful  army,  and  inflamed  by  the  ambition  of  con- 
quest, he  meditated  the  great  design  of  subjugating 
that  magnificent  city,  which  was  now  the  only  remnant 
of  the  empire  of  Constantine  the  Great. 

The  Emperor  John  Palseologus  was  succeeded  in 
1449  by  his  son  Constantine,  a  prince  of  courage,  but 
whose  capacity  was  unequal  to  the  emergencies  of  the 
time,  and  who  was  destined  to  be  the  last  monarch  of 
his  line.  Aware  of  the  designs  of  Mahomet,  he  took 
care  to  strengthen  the  fortifications  of  his  capital,  and 
he  made  many  advances  to  the  sultan  in  order  to  in- 
duce him  to  lay  aside  his  project.  But  Mahomet's 
resolution  was  unalterably  fixed,  and  his  whole  soul 
was  absorbed  in  the  design  of  making  Constantinople 
the  seat  of  his  empire.  If  he  sometimes  appeared  to 
listen  to  terms  of  accommodation,  it  was  only  that  he 
Ynight  lull  his  enemy  into  security,  while  he  carried  on 
his  military  preparations  with  an  unwearied  assiduity. 
Early  in  1452  he  built  a  strong  fortress  on  the  Bos- 
phorus,  which  the  Greeks  beheld  with  dismay.  As 
yet  the  two  nations  were  not  at  open  war,  but  Constan- 
tine could  not  shut  his  eyes  to  the  danger  now  directly 
impending  over  him ;  and  he  vainly  strove  by  flattery 
and  gifts  to  soften  his  implacable  foe,  who  sought  every 
occasion  for  a  rupture.  Hostilities  could  not  long  be 
deferred.  The  horses  of  the  Turkish  cavalry  were 
turned  into  the  cornfields  of  the  Greeks,  and,  in  a  tu- 
20  26* 


306 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


multuous  quarrel  which  this  occasioned,  several  of  both 
nations  were  slain.  Mahomet,  with  eager  joy,  seized 
at  once  upon  this  pretext  for  a  quarrel.  A  massacre 
f  the  Greek  peasantry  ensued,  and  the  two  nations 
were  at  war.  Constantino  saw  that  the  last  great  strug- 
gle had  arrived ;  but  Mahomet,  to  strike  the  decisive 
blow  with  more  effect,  deferred  the  siege  of  Constanti- 
nople till  the  ensuing  spring. 

The  Greeks  and  the  Turks  passed  an  anxious  winter. 
The  former  were  kept  awake  by  their  fears,  the  latter 
by  their  hopes ;  both,  by  the  preparations  of  defence 
and  attack  ;  and  the  two  monarchs,  who  had  the  most 
to  lose  or  gain,  were  the  most  deeply  affected  by  the 
national  sentiment.  In  Mahomet,  that  sentiment  was 
inflamed  by  the  ardor  of  his  youth  and  temper ;  he 
amused  his  leisure  with  building,  at  Adrianople,  the 
lofty  palace  of  Jehan  Numa  (the  watch-tower  of  the 
world),  but  his  serious  thoughts  were  constantly  bent 
on  the  conquest  of  the  city  of  Csesar.  At  the  dead  of 
night,  he  started  from  his  bed,  and  commanded  the 
instant  attendance  of  his  prime  vizier.  The  message, 
the  hour,  and  his  own  situation  alarmed  the  guilty  con- 
science of  the  officer,  who  had  possessed  the  confi- 
dence, and  advised  the  restoration,  of  Amurath,  the 
father  of  Mahomet.  On  receiving  the  royal  mandate, 
he  embraced,  perhaps  for  the  last  time,  his  wife  and 
children,  filled  a  cup  with  pieces  of  gold,  hastened  to 
the  palace,  adored  the  sultan,  and  offered,  according 
to  the  Oriental  custom,  the  slight  tribute  of  his  duty 
and  gratitude.  "  It  is  not  my  wish,"  said  Mahomet, 
"  to  resume  my  gifts,  but  rather  to  heap  and  multi- 
ply them  on  thy  head  ;  in  my  turn,  I  ask  a  present 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


307 


far  more  valuable  and  important,  —  Constantinople." 
As  soon  as  the  vizier  had  recovered  from  his  sur- 
prise, he  replied,  "  The  God,  who  has  already  given 
thee  so  large  a  portion  of  the  Roman  empire,  will  not 
deny  the  remnant  and  the  capital.  His  providence 
and  thy  power  assure  thy  success  ;  and  myself,  with  the 
rest  of  thy  faithful  slaves,  will  sacrifice  our  lives  and 
fortunes."  "  Lala "  (or  preceptor),  continued  the 
sultan,  "  do  you  see  this  pillow  ?  all  night,  in  my  agi- 
tation, I  have  pulled  it  on  the  one  side  and  on  the 
other ;  I  have  risen  from  my  bed  ;  again  have  I  laid 
down,  yet  sleep  has  not  visited  these  weary  eyes.  Be- 
ware of  the  gold  and  silver  of  the  Romans  ;  in  arms 
we  are  superior  ;  and,  with  the  aid  of  God,  and  the 
prayers  of  the  Prophet,  we  shall  speedily  become  mas- 
ters of  Constantinople." 

To  sound  the  disposition  of  his  soldiers,  Mahomet 
often  wandered  through  the  streets  alone  and  in  dis- 
guise ;  and  it  was  fatal  to  discover  the  sultan  when  he 
wished  to  escape  from  the  vulgar  eye.  His  hours  were 
spent  in  delineating  the  plan  of  the  hostile  city ;  in  de- 
bating, with  his  generals  and  engineers,  on  what  spot 
he  should  erect  his  batteries,  on  which  side  he  should 
assault  the  walls,  where  he  should  spring  his  mines, 
to  what  place  he  should  apply  his  scaling-ladders  ;  and 
the  exercise  of  the  day  repeated  and  proved  the  lucu- 
brations of  the  night. 

Among  the  implements  of  destruction,  he  studied 
with  peculiar  care  the  recent  and  important  discovery 
of  gunpowder,  and  his  artillery  surpassed  whatever 
had  yet  appeared  in  the  world.  A  founder  of  cannon, 
a  Dane,  or  Hungarian,  named  Urban,  who  had  been 


308 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


almost  starved  in  the  Greek  service,  deserted  to  the 
Moslems,  and  was  liberally  entertained  by  the  sultan. 
Mahomet  was  satisfied  with  the  answer  to  his  first 
question,  which  he  eagerly  pressed  on  the  artist,  "  Am 
I  able  to  cast  a  cannon  capable  of  throwing  a  ball  or 
stone  of  sufficient  size  to  batter  the  walls  of  Constanti- 
nople ?  "  "  I  am  not  ignorant,"  the  artist  replied,  "  of 
their  strength,  but,  were  they  more  solid  than  those  of 
Babylon,  I  could  oppose  an  engine  of  superior  power; 
the  position  and  management  of  that  engine  must  be 
left  to  your  engineers."  On  this  assurance  a  foundery 
was  established  at  Adrianople,  the  metal  was  prepared, 
and,  at  the  end  of  three  months.  Urban  produced  a 
piece  of  brass  ordnance  of  stupendous  and  almost  in- 
credible magnitude  ;  it  being  capable  of  throwing  a 
stone  bullet  weighing  above  six  hundred  pounds.  A 
vacant  place  before  the  new  palace  was  chosen  for  the 
first  experiment ;  but,  to  prevent  the  sudden  and  mis- 
chievous effects  of  astonishment  and  fear,  a  proclama- 
tion was  issued,  that  the  cannon  would  be  discharged 
the  ensuing  day.  The  explosion  was  felt  or  heard  in 
the  circuit  of  a  hundred  furlongs  ;  the  ball  was  driven 
above  a  mile,  and  on  the  spot  where  it  fell  it  buried  it- 
self a  fathom  deep  in  the  ground.  For  the  conveyance 
of  this  destructive  engine,  a  frame  or  carriage  of  thirty 
wagons  was  linked  together,  and  drawn  by  a  team  of 
sixty  oxen ;  two  hundred  men  on  both  sides  were 
stationed  to  poise  and  support  the  rolling  weight ;  two 
hundred  and  fifty  workmen  marched  before  to  smooth 
the  way  and  prepare  the  bridges ;  and  near  two  months 
were  employed  in  a  laborious  journey  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.    This  enormous  engine  was  flanked 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


309 


by  two  cannon  of  almost  equal  magnitude  ;  the  long 
order  of  the  Turkish  artillery  was  pointed  against  the 
walls  ;  fourteen  batteries  thundered  at  once  on  the 
most  accessible  places,  and  of  one  of  these  it  is  stated 
that  it  discharged  one  hundred  and  thirty  balls.  Yet, 
in  the  power  and  activity  of  the  sultan,  we  may  dis- 
cern the  infancy  of  the  new  science.  Under  a  master 
who  counted  the  moments,  the  great  cannon  could  be 
loaded  and  fired  no  more  than  seven  times  in  one  day. 
The  heated  metal  unfortunately  burst,  several  work- 
men were  destroyed,  and  the  skill  of  an  artist  was  ad- 
mired, who  found  a  way  to  prevent  the  danger  of  a 
recurrence  of  the  accident,  by  pouring  oil,  after  each 
discharge,  into  the  mouth  of  the  cannon. 

The  first  random  shots  were  productive  of  more 
sound  than  execution,  and  it  was  by  the  advice  of  a 
Christian,  that  the  engineers  were  taught  to  level  their 
aim  against  the  two  opposite  sides  of  the  salient  angles 
of  a  bastion.  The  weight  and  repetition  of  the  fire 
made  some  impression  on  the  walls,  and  the  Turks, 
pushing  their  approaches  to  the  edge  of  the  ditch,  at- 
tempted to  fill  the  enormous  chasm,  and  to  build  a  road 
to  the  assault.  Innumerable  fascines,  and  hogsheads, 
and  trunks  of  trees,  were  heaped  on  each  other,  and 
such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  throng,  that  the  fore- 
most and  the  weakest  were  pushed  headlong  down  the 
precipice,  and  instantly  buried  under  the  accumulated 
mass.  To  fill  the  ditch  was  the  toil  of  the  besiegers  ; 
to  clear  away  the  rubbish  was  the  safety  of  the  be- 
sieged, and,  after  a  long  and  bloody  conflict,  the  work 
that  had  been  performed  in  the  day  was  demolished  in 
the  night. 


310 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES, 


Mahomet's  next  resource  was  the  expedient  of  min- 
ing ;  but  the  soil  was  rocky  ;  in  every  attempt  he  was 
stopped  and  undermined  by  the  Christian  engineers; 
nor  had  the  art  been  yet  invented,  of  replenishing  those 
subterraneous  passages  with  gunpowder,  and  blowing 
whole  towns  and  cities  into  the  air.  A  circumstance 
that  distinguished  the  siege  of  Constantinople  is  the 
union  of  the  ancient  and  modern  artillery.  The  can- 
non were  intermingled  with  the  mechanical  engines  for 
casting  stones  and  darts ;  the  bullet  and  the  battering- 
ram  were  directed  against  the  same  walls ;  nor  had  the 
discovery  of  gunpowder  superseded  the  use  of  the 
Greek  fire.  A  wooden  turret  of  the  largest  size  was 
advanced  on  rollers  ;  this  portable  magazine  of  am- 
munition and  fascines  was  protected  by  a  threefold  cov- 
ering of  bull's  hides  ;  and  incessant  volleys  were  se- 
curely discharged  from  the  loop-holes.  In  the  front, 
three  doors  were  contrived  for  the  alternate  sally  and 
retreat  of  the  soldiers  and  workmen.  They  ascended 
by  a  staircase  to  the  upper  platform,  and  as  high  as  the 
level  of  that  platform  a  scaling-ladder  could  be  raised 
by  pulleys,  to  form  a  bridge  and  grapple  with  the  ad- 
verse rampart.  By  these  various  arts  of  annoyance, 
some  as  new  as  they  were  fatal  to  the  Greeks,  the  tow- 
er of  St.  Romanus  was  at  length  overturned.  After  a 
severe  struggle,  the  Turks  were  repulsed  from  the 
breach,  and  interrupted  by  darkness  ;  but  they  trusted, 
that,  with  the  return  of  light,  they  should  renew  the 
attack  with  fresh  vigor  and  decisive  success.  Of  this 
pause  of  action,  this  interval  of  hope,  each  moment 
was  improved  by  the  activity  of  the  emperor,  and 
Giustiniani,  the  commander  of  a  body  of  Genoese, 


/ 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES.  311 

who  passed  the  night  on  the  spot,  and  urged  the  labors 
which  involved  the  safety  of  the  city.  At  the  dawn 
of  day,  the  impatient  sultan  perceived,  with  astonish- 
ment and  grief,  that  his  wooden  turret  had  been  re- 
duced to  ashes ;  the  ditch  was  cleared  and  restored, 
and  the  tower  of  St.  Romanus  was  again  strong  and 
entire.  He  deplored  the  failure  of  his  design,  and 
uttered  a  profane  exclamation,  that  the  word  of  the 
thirty -seven  thousand  prophets  should  not  have  com- 
pelled him  to  believe  that  such  a  work,  in  so  short  a 
time,  could  have  been  accomplished  by  the  infidels. 

The  reduction  of  the  city  appeared  to  be  hopeless, 
unless  a  double  attack  could  be  made,  from  the  har- 
bour as  well  as  from  the  land  ;  but  the  harbour  was 
closed  by  a  strong  chain,  and  defended  by  eight  large 
ships,  more  than  twenty  of  a  smaller  size,  and  several 
galleys  and  sloops.  In  this  perplexity,  the  genius  of 
Mahomet  conceived  and  executed  a  plan  of  a  bold  and 
marvellous  cast,  of  transporting  by  land  his  lighter 
vessels  and  military  stores  from  the  Bosphorus  into  the 
higher  part  of  the  harbour.  The  distance  was  about 
ten  miles ;  the  ground  was  uneven,  and  overspread 
with  thickets.  A  level  way  was  covered  with  a  broad 
platform  of  strong  and  solid  planks,  and,  to  render  them 
more  slippery,  they  were  anointed  with  the  fat  of 
sheep  and  oxen.  Eighty  light  galleys  and  brigantines 
of  fifty  and  thirty  oars  were  drawn  upon  the  shore  of 
the  Bosphorus,  arranged  successively  on  rollers,  and 
transported  upon  this  railroad  by  the  power  of  men 
and  pulleys.  Two  guides  or  pilots  were  stationed  at 
the  helm  and  the  prow  of  each  vessel ;  the  sails  were 
unfurled  to  the  winds,  and  the  labor  was  cheered  by 


312 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


song  and  acclamation.  In  the  course  of  a  single  night, 
this  Turkish  fleet  painfully  climbed  the  hill,  steered 
over  the  plain,  and  was  launched  from  the  declivity 
into  the  shallow  waters  of  the  harbour,  far  above  the 
molestation  of  the  deeper  vessels  of  the  Greeks.  The 
real  importance  of  this  operation  was  magnified  by  the 
consternation  and  confidence  which  it  inspired  ;  but  the 
notorious,  unquestionable  fact  was  displayed  before 
the  eyes,  and  is  recorded  by  the  pens,  of  the  two  na- 
tions. 

As  soon  as  Mahomet  had  occupied  the  upper  har- 
bour with  a  fleet  and  army,  he  constructed,  in  the  nar- 
rowest part,  a  bridge,  or  rather  mole,  of  fifty  cubits  in 
breadth,  and  one  hundred  in  length  ;  it  was  formed  of 
casks  and  hogsheads  joined  with  rafters  linked  with 
iron,  and  covered  with  a  solid  floor.  On  this  floating 
battery  he  planted  one  of  his  largest  cannon,  while  the 
galleys,  with  troops  and  scaling-ladders,  approached 
the  most  accessible  side,  which  had  formerly  been 
stormed  by  the  Latin  conquerors.  The  Christians  have 
been  accused  of  indolence  for  not  destroying  these 
unfinished  works,  but  their  fire  was  controlled  and 
silenced  by  the  superior  fire  of  the  enemy  ;  nor  were 
they  wanting  in  a  nocturnal  attempt  to  burn  the  vessels, 
as  well  as  the  bridge  of  the  sultan.  His  vigilance 
prevented  their  approach  ;  their  foremost  galleys  were 
sunk  or  taken  ;  forty  youths,  the  bravest  of  Italy  and 
Greece,  were  inhumanly  massacred  at  his  command ; 
nor  could  the  emperor's  grief  be  assuaged  by  the  just 
though  cruel  retaliation  of  exposing  from  the  walls 
the  heads  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  Mussulman  cap- 
tives. After  a  siege  of  forty  days,  the  fate  of  Constan- 
tinople could  no  longer  be  averted. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


313 


In  the  great  and  general  attack,  the  military  judg- 
ment and  astrological  knowledge  of  Mahomet  advised 
him  to  wait  till  the  morning,  the  memorable  twenty- 
ninth  of  May,  in  the  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty-third 
year  of  the  Christian  era.  The  preceding  night  had 
been  actively  employed  ;  the  troops,  the  cannon,  and 
the  fascines  were  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  ditch, 
which,  in  many  parts,  presented  a  smooth  and  level 
passage  to  the  breach,  and  his  fourscore  galleys  almost 
touched,  with  their  prows  and  their  scaling-ladders,  the 
less  defensible  walls  of  the  harbour.  Under  pain  of 
death,  silence  was  enjoined,  but  the  physical  laws  of 
motion  and  sound  are  not  obedient  to  discipline  or  fear. 
Each  individual  might  suppress  his  voice,  and  measure 
his  footsteps,  but  the  march  and  labor  of  thousands 
must  inevitably  produce  a  strange  confusion  of  disso- 
nant clamors,  which  reached  the  ears  of  the  watch- 
men on  the  towers.  At  daybreak,  without  the  custom- 
ary signal  of  the  morning  gun,  the  Turks  assaulted  the 
city  by  sea  and  land  ;  and  the  similitude  of  a  twined 
or  twisted  thread  has  been  applied  to  the  closeness  and 
continuity  of  their  line  of  attack.  The  foremost  ranks 
consisted  of  the  refuse  of  the  host,  a  voluntary  crowd, 
who  fought  without  order  or  command  ;  of  the  feeble- 
ness of  age  or  childhood,  of  peasants  and  vagrants,  and 
of  all  who  had  joined  the  camp  in  the  blind  hope  of 
plunder  and  martyrdom.  The  common  impulse  drove 
them  onwards  to  the  wall ;  the  most  audacious  to  climb 
were  instanUy  precipitated  ;  and  not  a  dart  or  bullet 
of  the  Christians  was  idly  wasted  on  the  accumulating 
throng.  But  their  strength  and  ammunition  were  ex- 
hausted in  this  laborious  defence  ;  the  ditch  was  filled 
VIII. — 27 


314 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


with  the  bodies  of  the  slain  ;  they  supported  the  foot- 
steps of  their  companions,  and  of  this  devoted  van- 
guard the  death  was  more  serviceable  than  the  life. 
Under  their  respective  bashaws  and  sanjaks,  the  troops 
of  Anatolia  and  Romania  were  successively  led  to  the 
charge  ;  their  progress  was  various  and  doubtful,  but, 
after  a  conflict  of  two  hours,  the  Greeks  still  maintain- 
ed and  improved  their  advantage ;  and  the  voice  of 
the  emperor  was  heard  encouraging  his  soldiers  to 
achieve,  by  a  last  effoi%  the  deliverance  of  their  coun- 
try. At  that  fatal  moment,  the  janizaries  arose,  fresh, 
vigorous,  and  invincible.  The  sultan  himself,  on 
horseback,  with  an  iron  mace  in  his  hand,  was  the 
spectutoi  and  judge  of  their  valor ;  he  was  surrounded 
by  ten  thousand  of  his  domestic  troops,  whom  he  re- 
served for  the  decisive  occasion;  and  the  tide  of  bat- 
tle was  directed  and  impelled  by  his  voice  and  eye. 
His  numerous  ministers  of  justice  were  posted  behind 
the  line,  to  urge,  to  restrain,  and  to  punish  ;  and  if 
danger  was  in  the  front,  shame  and  inevitable  death 
Vere  in  the  rear  of  the  fugitives.  The  cries  of  fear 
and  of  pain  were  drowned  in  the  martial  music  of 
drums,  trumpets,  and  atabals ;  and  experience  has 
proved  that  the  mechanical  operation  of  sounds,  by 
quickening  the  circulation  of  the  blood  and  spirits,  will 
act  on  the  human  machine  more  forcibly  than  the  elo- 
quence of  reason  and  honor.  From  the  lines,  the 
galleys,  and  the  bridge,  the  Ottoman  artillery  thunder- 
ed on  all  sides ;  and  the  camp  and  city,  the  Greeks 
and  Turks,  were  involved  in  a  cloud  of  smoke,  which 
could  only  be  dispelled  by  the  final  deliverance  or  de- 
struction of  the  empire. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


315 


The  immediate  loss  of  Constantinople  may  be  as- 
cribed to  the  bullet  or  arrow  which  pierced  the  gaunt- 
let of  John  Giustiniani.  The  sight  of  his  blood,  and 
the  exquisite  pain,  appalled  the  courage  of  the  chief, 
whose  arms  and  counsels  were  the  firmest  raiTipait  of 
the  city.  As  he  withdrew  from  his  station  in  quest  of 
a  surgeon,  his  flight  was  perceived  and  stopped  by  the 
indefatigable  emperor.  "  Your  wound,"  exclaimed 
Palseologus,  "  is  slight ;  the  danger  is  pressing ;  your 
presence  is  necessary  ;  and  whither  will  you  retire  ?  " 
"  I  will  retire,"  said  the  trembling  Genoese,  "  by  the 
same  road  which  God  has  opened  to  the  Turks  "  ;  and 
with  these  words  he  hastily  passed  through  one  of  the 
breaches  of  the  inner  Avail.  By  this  pusillanimous  act 
he  stained  the  honors  of  a  military  life  ;  and  the  few 
days  which  he  survived  in  Galata,  or  the  isle  of  Chios, 
were  embittered  by  his  own  and  the  public  reproach. 
His  example  was  imitated  by  the  greater  part  of  the 
Latin  auxiliaries ;  and  the  defence  began  to  slacken, 
when  the  attack  was  pressed  with  redoubled  vigor. 
The  number  of  the  Ottomans  was  fifty,  perhaps  a 
hundred,  times  superior  to  that  of  the  Christians ;  the 
double  walls  were  reduced  by  the  cannon  to  a  heap  of 
ruins  ;  in  a  circuit  of  several  miles,  some  place  must 
be  found  more  easy  of  access,  or  more  feebly  guarded  ; 
and,  if  the  besiegers  could  penetrate  at  a  single  point, 
the  whole  city  was  irrecoverably  lost.  The  first  who 
deserved  the  Sultan's  reward,  was  Hassan,  the  jani- 
zary, of  gigantic  stature  and  strength.  With  his 
scimitar  in  one  hand,  and  his  buckler  in  the  other,  he 
ascended  the  outer  fortification.  Of  the  thirty  jan- 
izaries who  were  emulous  of  his  valor,  eighteen  per- 


316 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


ished  in  the  bold  adventure.  Hassan  and  his  twelve 
companions  Had  reached  the  summit ;  the  giant  was 
precipitated  from  the  rampart ;  he  rose  on  one  knee, 
and  was  again  overwhelmed  by  a  shower  of  darts  and 
stones.  But  his  success  had  proved  that  the  achieve- 
ment was  possible  ;  the  walls  and  towers  were  instantly 
covered  with  a  swarm  of  Turks ;  and  the  Greeks,  now 
driven  from  their  vantage  ground,  were  overwhelmed 
by  increasing  multitudes.  Amidst  these  multitudes,  the 
emperor,  who  accomplished  all  the  duties  of  a  gen- 
eral and  a  soldier,  was  long  seen,  and  finally  lost.  The 
nobles,  who  fought  round  his  person,  sustained  till  their 
last  breath  the  honorable  names  of  Pala3ologus  and 
Cantacuzene.  His  mournful  exclamation  was  heard, 
"  Cannot  there  be  found  a  Christian  to  cut  off  my 
head  ?  "  and  his  last  fear  was  that  of  falling  alive  into 
the  hands  of  the  infidels.  In  prudent  despair,  Constan- 
tino cast  away  the  purple  ;  amidst  the  tumult,  he  fell 
by  an  unknown  hand,  and  his  body  was  buried  under  a 
mountain  of  the  slain.  After  his  death,  resistance  and 
order  were  no  more ;  the  Greeks  fled  towards  the  city, 
and  many  were  pressed  and  stifled  in  the  narrow  pass 
of  the  gate  of  St.  Romanus.  The  victorious  Turks 
rushed  through  the  breaches  of  the  inner  wall,  and,  as 
they  advanced  into  the  streets,  they  were  soon  joined 
by  their  brethren,  who  had  forced  the  gate  Phenar,  on 
the  side  of  the  harbour.  It  was  thus,  after  a  siege  of 
fifty-three  days,  that  Constantinople,  which  had  defied 
the  power  of  Chosroes,  the  Chagan,  and  the  Caliphs, 
was  irretrievably  subdued  by  the  arms  of  Mahomet  the 
Second.  Her  empire  only  had  been  subverted  by  the 
Latins  ;  her  religion  was  trampled  in  the  dust  by  the 
Moslem  conquerors. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


317 


The  tidings  of  misfortune  fly  with  a  rapid  wing,  yet 
such  was  the  extent  of  Constantinople,  that  the  more 
distant  quarters  might  prolong  some  moments  the  happy 
ignorance  of  their  ruin.  On  receiving  assurance  of 
the  public  calamity,  the  houses  and  convents  were  in- 
stantly deserted,  and  the  trembling  inhabitants  flocked 
together  in  the  streets  like  a  herd  of  timid  animals ; 
as  if  accumulated  weakness  could  be  productive  of 
strength,  or  in  the  vain  hope,  that,  amid  the  crowd,  each 
individual  might  be  safe  and  invisible.  From  every  part 
of  the  capital,  they  thronged  into  the  church  of  St. 
Sophia  ;  in  the  space  of  an  hour,  the  sanctuary,  the 
choir,  the  nave,  the  upper  and  lower  galleries,  were 
filled  with  the  multitude  of  fathers  and  husbands,  of 
women  and  children,  of  priests,  monks,  and  religious 
virgins.  The  doors  were  barred  on  the  inside,  and 
they  sought  protection  from  the  sacred  dome.  Their 
confidence  was  founded  on  the  prophecy  of  an  enthu- 
siast or  impostor,  that  one  day  the  Turks  would  enter 
Constantinople,  and  pursue  the  Romans  as  far  as  the 
column  of  Constantine,  in  the  square  before  St.  So- 
phia, but  that  this  would  be  the  term  of  their  calami- 
ties ;  that  an  angel  would  descend  from  heaven  with  a 
sword  in  his  hand,  and  would  deliver  the  empire  with 
that  celestial  weapon  to  a  poor  man  seated  at  the  foot 
of  the  column.  "  Take  this  sword,"  he  would  say, 
"  and  avenge  the  people  of  the  Lord  !  "  at  these  words 
the  Turks  would  instantly  fly. 

While  they  expected  the  descent  of  the  tardy  angel, 
the  doors  were  broken  with  axes,  and,  as  the  Turks 
encountered  no  resistance,  their  bloodless  hands  were 
employed  in  selecting  and  securing  the  multitude  of 


318 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


their  prisoners.  Youth,  beauty,  and  the  appearance 
of  wealth,  attracted  their  choice  ;  and  the  right  of 
property  was  decided  among  themselves  by  a  prior 
seizure,  by  personal  strength,  and  by  the  authority  of 
command.  In  the  space  of  an  hour,  the  male  captives 
were  bound  with  cords,  the  females  with  their  veils 
and  girdles.  The  senators  were  linked  with  their 
slaves  ;  the  prelates  with  the  porters  of  the  church ; 
and  young  men  of  a  plebeian  class  with  noble  maids 
whose  faces  had  been  invisible  to  the  sun  and  their 
nearest  kindred.  Of  these  unfortunate  Greeks,  of 
these  domestic  animals,  whole  strings  were  rudely 
driven  through  the  streets  ;  and,  as  the  conquerors 
were  eager  to  return  for  more  prey,  their  trembling 
pace  was  quickened  with  menaces  and  blows.  At  the 
same  hour,  a  similar  rapine  was  exercised  in  all  the 
churches  and  monasteries,  in  all  the  palaces  and  habi- 
tations of  the  capital  ;  nor  could  any  place,  however 
sacred  or  sequestered,  protect  the  persons  or  the 
property  of  the  Greeks.  Above  sixty  thousand  of  this 
devoted  people  were  transported  from  the  city  to  the 
camp  and  fleet,  exchanged  or  sold  according  to  the 
caprice  or  interest  of  their  masters,  and  dispersed  in 
remote  servitude,  through  the  provinces  of  the  Ottoman 
empire. 

From  the  first  hour  of  the  memorable  twenty-ninth 
of  May,  disorder  and  rapine  prevailed  in  Constantino- 
ple, till  the  eighth  hour  of  the  same  day,  when  the  sul- 
tan himself  passed  in  triumph  through  the  gate  of  St. 
Romanus.  He  was  attended  by  his  viziers,  bashaws, 
and  guards,  each  of  whom  (says  a  Byzantine  historian) 
was  robust  as  Hercules,  dexterous  as  Apollo,  and 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


319 


equal  in  battle  to  any  ten  of  the  ordinary  race  of  mor- 
tals. The  conqueror  gazed  with  satisfaction  and  won- 
der on  the  strange  though  splendid  appearance  of  the 
domes  and  palaces,  so  dissimilar  to  the  style  of  Orien- 
tal architecture.  In  the  hippodrome  or  atmeidan, 
his  eye  was  attracted  by  the  famous  twisted  column 
of  the  three  serpents  ;  and,  as  a  trial  of  his  strength, 
he  shattered  with  his  iron  mace,  or  battle-axe,  the  under 
jaw  of  one  of  these  monsters,  which,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Turks,  were  the  idols  or  talismans  of  the  city.  At 
the  principal  door  of  St.  Sophia,  he  alighted  from  his 
horse  and  entered  the  dome  ;  and,  such  was  his  jealous 
regard  for  that  monument  of  his  glory,  that,  on  ob- 
serving a  zealous  Mussulman  in  the  act  of  breaking 
the  marble  pavement,  he  admonished  him,  with  his 
scimitar,  that,  if  the  spoil  and  captives  were  granted  to 
the  soldiers,  the  public  and  private  buildings  had  been 
reserved  for  the  prince.  By  his  command,  the  me- 
tropoUtan  church  of  the  East  was  transformed  into  a 
mosque  ;  the  rich  and  portable  instruments  of  super- 
stition had  been  removed ;  the  crosses  were  thrown 
down ;  and  the  walls,  which  were  covered  with  images 
and  mosaics,  were  washed  and  purified,  and  restored  to 
a  state  of  naked  simplicity.  On  the  same  day,  or  on 
the  ensuing  Friday,  the  muezzin  or  crier  ascended  the 
most  lofty  turret  and  proclaimed  the  ezan^  or  public 
invitation,  in  the  name  of  God  and  his  Prophet ;  the 
imam  preached,  and  Mahomet  the  Second  performed 
the  namaz  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  on  the  great 
altar  where  the  Christian  mysteries  hac^  so  lately  been 
celebrated  before  the  last  of  the  Csesars.  From  St. 
Sophia,  he  proceeded  to  the  august  but  desolate  man- 


320 


MISCELLANEOUS  SKETCHES. 


sion  of  a  hundred  successors  of  the  great  Constan- 
tine,  but  which,  m  a  few  hours,  had  been  stripped  of 
the  pomp  of  royalty.  A  melancholy  reflection  on 
the  vicissitudes  of  human  greatness  forced  itself  on 
his  mind,  and  he  repeated  an  elegant  distich  of  Per- 
sian poetry  :  "  The  spider  has  wove  his  web  in  the 
imperial  palace  ;  and  the  owl  hath  sung  her  watch- 
song  on  the  towers  of  Afrasiab." 

Sanguinary  as  Mahomet  was,  the  manner  in  which 
he  treated  the  vanquished  did  him  honor.  He  left  the 
Greeks  in  possession  of  several  churches,  restrained 
the  fury  of  the  soldiery,  gave  the  emperor  a  magnifi- 
cent funeral,  and  rendered  Constantinople  flourishing. 
The  capture  of  the  city  filled  Europe  with  alarm. 
Yet  no  serious  attempt  was  made  for  the  expulsion  of 
the  Turks.  Mahomet  subjugated  Trebizond,  where  the 
name  of  a  Greek  empire  still  subsisted,  carried  his 
arms  as  far  as  Trieste,  and  threatened  Venice.  His 
lieutenants  took  Otranto,  and  penetrated  into  Calabria. 
Universal  consternation  prevailed  in  Europe,  when  his 
career  of  victory  was  cut  short  by  a  sudden  death. 
He  died  in  1481,  at  an  age  when  he  was  yet  capable 
of  executing  the  greatest  enterprises. 


END. 


